We aren't removing human reflection from the operations of our economy. High frequency traders don't make decisions about the allocation of capital. They _can

We aren't removing human reflection from the operations of our economy. High frequency traders don't make decisions about the allocation of capital. They _can't_, because they don't hold positions overnight; they sell their inventory by the end of the day. Actual investment decisions -- which bonds or stocks to buy -- are still almost entirely made by human beings. HFT and algos only comes up when it's time to implement these decisions, and even then play a very minor role in the financial system. If you want to understand how minor, compare the cash piles HFT companies manage with cash piles real economic players manage: The biggest HFT firms I know of are Virtu & Knight/GETCO, which both have a bit over $1 billion under management. Compare that the CALPERS pension fund's $300 billion, or with Goldman Sachs or Norways' sovereign wealth fund, both of which have about $900 billion in assets, or with PIMCO's bond fund ($2000 billion) or BlackRock's total AUM ($4500 billion).