Human swarming, a real-time method for parallel distributed intelligence

Abstract

Although substantial research has explored the design of artificial swarms, the majority of such work involves swarms of autonomous robots or simulated agents. Little work, however, has been done on the creation of artificial swarms that connect groups of networked humans with the objective of fostering a unified emergent intelligence. This paper describes a novel platform called UNU that enables distributed populations of networked users to congregate online in real-time swarms and tackle problems as an artificial swarm intelligence (A.S.I.). Modeled after biological swarms, the UNU platform enables online groups to work together in synchrony, forging a unified dynamic system that can quickly answer questions and make decisions by exploring a decision-space and converging on a preferred solution. Initial testing suggests that human swarming has great potential for unleashing the collective intelligence of online groups, often exceeding individual abilities.