Synesthesis

Can anyone comment on the relevance of this in modern CS or related fields? As a non CS major, whenever I see material from Von Neumann, I can't help but be amazed at it. Yet I get the impression that while many people appreciate his work (he presents very compelling concepts in my opinion), it didn't have the impact on CS or other fields you would expect. Am I right or wrong? Where are these ideas of Von Neumann applied today?

My idea was that this choice for words might have been culturally influenced. Take note that this research is performed in Japanese institutions by Japanese authors. A western author, Koren (author on Wabi-sabi, a phenomenon in japanese culture), makes note of how prevalent non-dualism is in Japanese culture and tradition. He descibes non-dualism as:"More spiritually, the idea of non-dualism is a relationship to reality that proposes that everything is inextricably connected and alive, even inanimate objects."

I can see how someone with such views would find it logical to attribute decision-making to objects or find it a sensible choice of words. It doesn't really change the conclusions of the research anyway.

Remember when S. Hawking, E. Musk, and others warned to be cautious about the future of AI? I think the contrast defined here between the AI: HFT (High frequency trading algorithms) and 'Monkeys' (the alleged fraudsters, bashing buttons in a quick and manipulative fashion) shows already that we don't like to judge AI the same as we do with humans; while the manipulative effect of both techniques is hard to judge and compare, the argument made is mainly of another order: intent.

On the highest level both AI/HFT and Monkey do this for their own earnings. Society decides that profits out of investment are well earned because they serve some important mechanisms that allow companies to operate. HFT used this as an important argument: they add volatility to the market thus allowing more realistic prices. But the same argument can also be made by the Monkeys.

On a lower level we now start to distinguish: the Monkey techniques are manipulative and were used out of malicious intent. Some AI/HFT techniques may be manipulative but intent disguised: if the technique or decision to "manipulate" was devised by AI, who is to blame?