I am also interested in applications of AI for finance and quantitative and technical analysis of asset and commodities prices. At this point I am near to a complete ignoramus on this subject and am keen to listen to and learn from anybody with a similar interest.

I don't know how isomorphic the cases are, but Francis Spufford's Red Plenty, fresh off the presses, is about the attempt by 60s-era Soviet reformers to implement cybernetic planning. While I haven't read it, I've seen glowing reviews from both opponents and proponents of planning.