Humans and computers are the perfect combination for generating solutions
(Mirror Daily, United States) – Our world is mostly in trouble and needs help but scientists believe that human and artificial intelligence could save the world.
Humans seem to be the smartest beings in the world, although some animals might differ. As science and technology advance we are trying to make machines as smart as we are. But machines, don’t really have a mind of their own, and without the freedom of thinking for themselves, it’s a bit difficult to catch up.
But then again, there’s artificial intelligence. This means that machines are indeed created to think for themselves. Although that level hasn’t been reached so far, things are moving quite fast. And it looks like combining the human mind with the one of a machine might help solve some of the problems humanity is dealing with.
According to a recent study published in Science a computer and a human could work well together because they bring different things to the table. A computer can efficiently analyze data while a human can recognize patterns or generate ideas.
So far, this ‘partnership’ has worked in the form ‘micro-tasks’ similar to what Wikipedia does, asking people to create articles but it takes too long. However, researchers are now considering ‘macro-tasks’ which could be solved only by real-time interaction between humans and supercomputers.
A large-scale conflict requires a complex system that could generate more than one solution. The interaction should work like this. The ‘problem solving’ takes place on a crowd-based platform where people work from their computer and then share their work with the others who will take it to the next level and so on.
Scientists at Cornell University are already testing this idea trying to improve the research for Alzheimer’s. In their study, they combined two micro-tasking systems which generated interactivity and created models of how the blood ran within the brains of the test mice.
They are hoping to find treatment faster simply by allowing people to play an online game which will lead to finding different cures in a limited amount of time, compared to decades as it has been so far.
Besides the Alzheimer’s study, there’s also the YardMap.org, which is a project launched in 2012 in the effort of mapping global conservation by allowing people to share their work and build together through a map-based network.
All in all, humans and machines could work together for a better future, solving different problems such as finding cures for diseases or finding solutions for climate change.
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