SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- A new study published today by California Polytechnic State University and Unanimous AI showed that business teams, when connected by AI algorithms modeled after swarms in nature, could significantly improve their decision-making abilities. The study demonstrated with a high degree of statistical significance that when working together as an AI-optimized system, networked teams showed significantly higher performance in tasks that require social perceptiveness than individuals working alone or teams working together by plurality vote.
These results were presented at the 52nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) by Professor David Askay of Cal Poly. The study was conducted on 60 teams, each one tasked with taking a standard social intelligence test known as the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" (RME). The teams completed the test either by (i) working alone, (ii) collaborating by plurality vote, or (iii) connected over the internet using a technology called Swarm AI that is modeled after swarms in nature. Researchers used the RME test because prior studies have shown it to be a strong predictor of overall team effectiveness.
Swarm AI technology enables networked human groups to make collaborative decisions by converging as a unified system upon optimized insights. Working as individuals, the participants demonstrated a 33% error rate on the RME intelligence test. Using Swarm AI technology, the error rate dropped to less than 16%, meaning that when working together as a real-time swarm teams reduced their errors by more than half.
"Successful groups are able to converge on optimal decisions," said Dr. David Askay, an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at California Polytechnic State University. "This study suggests that any team can exhibit significantly greater social perception – and therefore effectiveness - if they work together as a real-time swarm, moderated by AI algorithms."
Swarm Intelligence, the science behind Swarm AI technology, is the reason why birds flock, bees swarm, and fish school – they are smarter together than alone. By forming closed-loop systems, these organisms produce insights, together in groups, that greatly exceed the abilities of any individual member. While humans have not evolved this ability naturally, Swarm AI technology enables this artificially, allowing groups to amplify their intelligence by forming real-time swarms.
The published paper outlines many potential applications of Swarm AI technology for use among business teams, from making optimized decisions to more accurately forecasting how consumers will react to marketing messaging, product features, or sales tactics. Future research is currently ongoing at California Polytechnic State University, exploring the potential benefits.
"We've seen Swarm AI technology amplify the predictive intelligence of groups in a number of different fields, from financial forecasting to medical diagnosis" said Dr. Louis Rosenberg, CEO and Chief Scientist at Unanimous AI and former Cal Poly Professor, "but this study shows that swarming can be just as effective at increasing a business team's social awareness, which should inform significantly better decisions across a range of disciplines."
This collaboration between Cal Poly and Unanimous AI has been nominated for "Best Paper" at the Hawaii International Conference for Systems Science.
SOURCE Unanimous AI
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