Please join us for a conversation with Christian Borch (University of Copenhagen) and Kristian Bondo Hansen (Copenhagen Business School) about their recent essay, “Alternative data and sentiment analysis: Prospecting non-standard data in machine learning-driven finance,” published in Big Data & Society (January 2022). 

Social media commentary, satellite imagery and GPS data are a part of ‘alternative data’, that is, data that originate outside of the standard repertoire of market data but are considered useful for predicting stock prices, detecting different risk exposures and discovering new price movement indicators. With the availability of sophisticated machine-learning tools, alternative data are gaining traction within the investment management and algorithmic trading industries. Hansen and Borch's paper shows that social media-based sentiment analytics is one manifestation of how alternative data are deployed for stock price prediction purposes.

Christian Borch is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Copenhagen. His research lies at the intersection of the sociology of financial markets and the sociology of technology. In his recent work, he examines the role of, and risks posed by, machine learning systems in financial markets, using these markets as a laboratory for understanding the sociological impact of machine-learning systems more broadly.

Kristian Bondo Hansen is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Management, Society and Communication at Copenhagen Business School. His research examines the use of big data and machine learning techniques in various industries and organizational settings and the socio-economic and ethical implications of the quantification and datafication of society.

The PERN Salon hosts discussions, presentations, and workshops. The Platform Economies Research Network (PERN) is committed to fostering a community of learning. We organize events with our members and guests on works-in-progress and new projects. We welcome presentations in all forms of media, and we seek to foster exchange between academics and practitioners. 

This conversation between Borch, Hansen, and PERN members will be livestreamed to the public on Thursday, November 10 at 1 PM PST, 4 PM EST, 10 PM CET / 8 AM AET (Friday). We invite you to engage with PERN on Twitter @perntns or via email at pern@newschool.edu.    

The Vimeo livestream link will be sent to registered participants via email.    

Presented by Platform Economies Research Network at The New School and ADM+S.