CMU prof Niki Kittur discusses crowd-augmented cognition and AI impact. Topics include enhancing creativity with AI, developing browser tab manager SEMA, ethics of AI, harnessing collective knowledge for innovation, and seeking alternatives for discontinued services.
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Quick takeaways
Skeema tab manager aids information organization in web browsers by synthesizing and annotating data efficiently.
Leveraging crowdsourcing and AI enhances problem-solving by combining human expertise with machine capabilities.
Deep dives
The Origin of Schema and enhancing Information Organization
The podcast delves into the development of Schema, a tab manager aimed at aiding users in information organization within web browsers. The idea stemmed from the need to efficiently manage overwhelming online information. Schema aimed to assist users in synthesizing, annotating information, and making it usable. The project evolved from initial research on tabs and knowledge workers behaviors, focusing on transforming tabs into actionable tasks that align with users' work patterns.
Crowd Augmented Cognition and Collaborative Information Processing
The podcast highlights the concept of crowd augmented cognition and the power of collaborating to amplify individual capabilities. Examining platforms like Wikipedia as a collaborative model, researchers explore how collective intelligence can create high-quality artifacts. The discussion extends to utilizing crowdsourcing and AI to enhance information processing, emphasizing the potential of combining human expertise with machine capabilities for innovative problem-solving.
Future Directions in AI and Crowd Augmented Cognition
The episode explores the synergy between artificial intelligence and crowd augmented cognition in enhancing creativity and problem-solving. Projects, like aiding Toyota's automotive designers through AI-inspired creativity, showcase the potential for AI to unlock unconventional solutions. The conversation hints at leveraging AI to augment human cognition rather than replace it, paving the way for innovative approaches to societal challenges.
Legacy and Future Prospects of Schema and Call for Future Collaboration
The episode concludes by reflecting on the impact of Schema on users' information management habits and the decision to sunset the project due to usability challenges. However, the discussion emphasizes the broader vision of harnessing collective intelligence and innovative problem-solving. The episode ends with a call for collaboration to drive forward the vision of externalizing mental models and advancing information synthesis to address societal challenges.
This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we explore the frontier of crowd-augmented cognition, the concept of humans working together with the help of technology, including new ways that artificial intelligence is changing the field.
Our guest is Aniket (Niki) Kittur, a professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, where his research focuses on new methods of augmenting human intellect using crowds and computation.
We also talk about a related project that Kittur and his colleagues developed called Skeema, a browser tab manager that helped users organize their work, projects, and ultimately their brains in the process.
With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton.