IIn this period of analysis, forecasts, models on the spread of the Corona Virus in our Country and in the rest of the world, the role of the so-called “Data Science” has suddenly become clear to everyone. AI is growingly influencing every aspect of our life, assisting us individually and as a collectivity in the monitoring of our health status, in the early identification of potential risks, and influencing our behaviours and our future.
At the same time, the importance of collective intelligence is evident in these dramatic days. Our collective action we are implementing to stem the spread of COVID-19 is a form of collective intelligence, which can be supported in its action by the tools of artificial intelligence and the analysis of big data. LAMA took part in the study “The Future of Minds and Machines: How artificial intelligence can enhance collective intelligence” promoted by NESTA UK, by analysing the literature on the topic, interviewing some of the most important international experts on these issues, and mapping international case studies, investigating the relationship between AI and collective intelligence, looking for answers and perspectives from already existing examples all over the world.
In many of the examined cases, technologies reinforce and positively amplify collaboration between people, through the ability of AI to analyse language (Natural Language Processing and semantic analysis), images (Computer Vision), and a wide range of structured data.
An example is OneSoil, an application that uses satellite data to allow farmers’ communities to monitor in real time some relevant characteristics of their land, in order to predict their productivity, anticipate the spread of diseases and plan their activities efficiently. Dataminr instead helps to intercept and categorize content posted by people on social media and allows organizations all over the world to monitor in real time the occurrence of international crises and to intervene effectively.
A total of 20 case studies have been analysed and presented, categorized by the way in which the different cognitive functions of AI allow the extension of human intelligence, from perception to decision making, as well as enhancing creativity and learning capacity, like a series of new plug-ins which can be installed on our human processors.
The full report with a specific in-depth analysis of the 20 international cases to understand concretely how artificial intelligence can help us to adopt collective solutions to systemic, complex and increasingly global problems can be found at the link below.
Case studies.
