Humans Beat Computers to a Breakthrough on AIDS Virus

Humans Beat Computers to a Breakthrough on AIDS Virus
Gamification Co - The Concourse Exhibition Center
Can gamification be harnessed to serve the greater good, such as solving scientific problems? In 2011, the team behind Foldit - a crowd-work game developed at the University of Washington - made headlines for unlocking the secrets of a key protein in the fight against HIV. What had stumped scientists for 15 years was solved in 10 days by 40,000 people playing a game online. In this talk, Seth Cooper, Creative Director of Foldit, discusses the use of games as an architecture to put the combined power of humans and computers toward solving problems that neither could solve alone. Seth will provide both an analysis of the success (and early missteps) of Foldit, as well as a view of a future in which humans and machines, working together through gamification, will change the economics and outcomes for business, science, government and society."