For decades, investors looked to South Korea’s stock market as a barometer of the country’s economy. Today, they increasingly look to it for clues about the future of artificial intelligence (AI) — a shift that has happened with remarkable speed. 

The Korea Exchange (KRX) has already activated 28 sidecars during the first half of this year, compared with just three during all of last year. It has also triggered four market-wide circuit breakers this year, despite having previously used the mechanism only six times over the exchange’s entire history.

Sidecars and circuit breakers are designed to slow trading during periods