Clearly there are ways modern technology could improve these processes, and one group is hoping smarter AI could help voters make candidate decisions that better reflect their own goals and priorities. Researchers at Harvard and Carnegie Mellon University have been hard at work devising better methods for collective decision-making, using cutting-edge developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning. The researchers behind the effort, led by computer scientist Prof. Ariel Procaccia, stumbled upon the idea while working on decision making for software agents. The "aha" moment came when he realized the same toolset that could be used to help AI make better decisions could be leveraged to help groups of people make better decisions as well.