BATMAN v SUPERMAN, a swarm decides!

With the film BATMAN v SUPERMAN slated for release early next year, an online debate has erupted that pits the man in black against the man in blue. Rather than endlessly argue, we put this question to a SWARM of college students, harnessing their collective intelligence. …
Continue Reading→

SWARM INTELLIGENCE Predicts Kentucky Will Lose

Last week we asked a SWARM INTELLIGENCE to predict the match-ups in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA basketball tournament.* Of course, every individual has their own unique strategy for filling out their brackets, from favorite mascots to detailed statistical analysis, but…
Continue Reading→

Of Mold and Men (and social swarms…)

I think about slime mold a lot.  And fish.  And birds.  And all other social creatures that have evolved to amplify their collective intelligence by collaborating in closed-loop systems.  We have many names for these natural systems, including flocks, schools, shoals, blooms, herds, and swarms. In…
Continue Reading→
How a Collaborative A.I. beat the Experts

How a Collaborative A.I. beat the Experts

 THE CONTENDERS: Last week, the New York Times posted their picks for the Oscars.  So did the renowned analysis and forecasting blog FiveThirtyEight.  Both made their picks based on deep industry knowledge and/or historical stats.  Both were overseen by experts…
Continue Reading→