My alma mater recently asked me a question that I have been asked by many other folks - did technology cause the subprime meltdown? After some discussion they decided to interview me on the topic and publish an article.
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As for the article, many people have questioned whether technology was the root cause of the subprime bubble bursting and the resulting credit crunch. My opinion is that technology did not cause the problem but it may have accelerated it. Technology is very good at adding speed to business processes. If those business processes are flawed in any way then technology will accentuate those flaws.
As an example underwriting standards were loosened over the years and the technology which enables automated underwriting made it easier and quicker to approve someone who maybe shouldn't have qualified for a loan product. Does this make technology the culprit? In my opinion no. The business decisions that allow underwriting guidelines to be compromised were translated into business rules that are used by the technology to render decisions.
People who point to technology as the culprit are looking to redirect the blame. The real mistakes were made by people who got carried away yet again in a fit of irrational exuberance.
