This US start-up is tapping collective human intelligence for AI

The mere mention of artificial intelligence (AI) often conjures up images of ultraintelligent robots that process millions of gigabytes of data, before spitting out insights that would have taken humans months of laborious work. But a US-based start-up believes that humans still need to be at the centre of it all. San Francisco-based Unanimous AI has developed artificial intelligence technology based on swarm intelligence – known as the collective behaviour often displayed when groups of people or animals amplify intelligence by working together as a group. The company blends human decision-making processes with AI algorithms to determine the best solution in a question posed to a group of human participants, referred to as a swarm. The swarm is tasked with collectively finding the best answer to the question posed to them, while Unanimous AI's algorithms assess everything from the amount of time it takes for a participant to come to a decision and even the level of conviction they have in their choice.