Knight Capital introduced new software to take advantage of a change in regulations. As anyone who has read Frankenstein or watched Terminator and 2001: A Space Odyssey could have predicted, the software malfunctioned, erratically buying and selling millions of shares. In perhaps the stupidest side note of the whole mind-bogglingly stupid affair, the computer lacked a “kill switch.” The runaway machine went on trading for thirty minutes. By the time they shut it down, Knight Capital had lost $440 million.