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Profitable algorithmic traders are not in the business of moving the field forward. They're in the business of making profits.

What field ? They aren't curing cancer, serves 0 purpose to advance the "field".

You make money with if you have useful data others don't have, or you have better algorithms that others aren't using.

When these become publicly known and used, your system doesn't work any more because the prices now include whatever signal you had for yourself before.

It's a bit more subtle than that, because there are feedback loops in the system. When a signal or factor spreads, it does so at multiple time horizons.

e.g. If I have a good signal at predicting horizon 1 day, then it is in my interest to have many people trading it at horizon > 1 day, as they will push the price in my direction.