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Animal Minds > Swarm Intelligence > Flashcards

Swarm Intelligence Flashcards

1
Q

What does this lecture look at?

A

when and how groups make better decisions than individuals (and also when the reverse is true…)

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2
Q

Where do the swarm intelligence experiments come from?

A

the labs of Stephen Pratt (Arizona State University) and Takao Sasaki (University of Georgia)

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3
Q

What is swarm intelligence?

A

A group of individuals processes information together and makes “sophisticated” decisions

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4
Q

What questions are asked in this lecture in regards to swarm intelligence

A
  • What are the underlying mechanisms?
  • In what sense are these decisions sophisticated?
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5
Q

What is a previous lecture’s example of continuous choice swarm intelligence

A

Fairgoers guessing the weight of an ox

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6
Q

What is a previous lecture’s example of multiple choice swarm intelligence

A

Game Show:
Can ask one “expert” or the audience
Single “expert” = 65% correct
Audience = 91% correct

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7
Q

What is another previous lecture’s example of continuous choice swarm intelligence

A

Ants mark paths walked with pheromone

Ant colonies can solve complex spatial optimization problems

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8
Q

What are four human oriented examples of swarm intelligence

A
  • User-driven content
  • Open access interactive designs
  • Prediction markets
  • Reviews and reputations
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9
Q

What is another terms for the many wrongs principle

A

Central limit theorem

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10
Q

What is the basis of the many wrongs principle

A

Continuous choice

Group decision = mean

As group size increases, accuracy increases

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11
Q

Describe Condorcet’s Jury Theorem

A

Binary/Multiple choice (e.g. true or false)

Group decision = majority

As group size increases, accuracy increases

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12
Q

What species does this lecture look at?

A

Temnothorax rugatulus

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13
Q

Describe what happens when temnothorax rugatulus nests are destroyed

A

Colony needs to find a new site to relocate to (“house-hunting)”

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14
Q

What is the purpose of temnothorax rugatulus paint markings

A

Help them identify and track each individual ant in the colony

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15
Q

Describe temnothorax rugatulus nest preference

A

Consistent nest preferences for nests with smaller entrances

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16
Q

Describe what happens after temnothorax rugatulus nest is destroyed

A

triggers an emigration process:
~1/3 of colony members go out scouting for potential new nest sites. If they find one they like, they return home and start recruiting others to it.

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17
Q

What are the two kinds of recruitment in this species?

A

Tandem run
Transport

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18
Q

Describe this species recruitment process

A

Recruitment is conditional on nest quality
-> more ants are recruited to the better nest option.

Ants first recruit by tandem running, but then switch to transport once “quorum” number of ants is reached in new nest.

Quorum is reached faster in better nest; this speeds up recruitment further; colony settles in better nest (i.e., a collective decision has been made).

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19
Q

What is the ants algorithm?

A

Positive feedback (how good a nest is influences scouts’ recruitment efforts)

Quorum-sensing (size of quorum can be adjusted depending on urgency of emigration)

20
Q

Can individual ants make a choice for preferred colony?

A

yes

21
Q

How do individual ants’ choices for preferred colony compare to general group preferences?

A

They have the same preference

22
Q

What are the four useful features of this species

A
  • Small colony size
  • Colonies have consistent preferences and make consensus decisions
  • Observable recruitment behavior
  • Isolated individuals can also make decisions (and have the same preferences as colonies)
23
Q

What is the benefit of small colony size

A

Easy to identify & track each ant

24
Q

What is the benefit of consistent preferences/consensus decisions

A

Allows us to measure the accuracy of their decisions

25
Q

What is the benefit of observable recruitment behavior

A

Allows us to record how information is transmitted among group members

26
Q

What is the benefit of isolated individuals making decisions/having same preferences

A

Allows us to directly compare the performance of colonies and individuals

27
Q

What does the first case study of this species focus on

A

Emergence of group rationality from irrational individuals

28
Q

Describe the Decoy Effect

A
  • An example of irrational decisionmaking (failure to choose optimal option)
  • Relative (rather than absolute) evaluation of available options can lead to irrationality
29
Q

What do classical optimization models of animal behavior assume (and what is the reality)

A

Individuals are “fitness maximisers” and hence should make rational choices

Reality: Individuals of multiple species have been shown to make irrational choices

30
Q

Describe the first case study

A

Ants are giving decoy A (smaller area, lighter) and decoy B (darker area, bigger)

31
Q

What were the expected results of CS1

A

if individual ants are rational, they should choose Decoy A and Decoy B equally

If individuals are not rational, ants in the A group should choose Decoy A more than Decoy B and ants in the B group should choose Decoy B over Decoy A

32
Q

What were the results of CS 1

A

Individual ants are irrational, but colonies are rational

33
Q

What were the conclusions of CS 1

A

Rational decisions emerge from irrational decision makers because lone individuals make relative evaluations, but in colonies each individual only makes single-evaluations

34
Q

What did Case Study 2 focus on?

A

Do colonies have a larger cognitive capacity than individuals?

35
Q

What is the overarching theme of CS 2

A

More choices is not always better… leads to cognitive overload

36
Q

What are groups able to do?

A

Choose best option without individuals making direct comparisons

37
Q

How do groups choose best option without individuals making direct comparisons

A

Individuals visiting the better nest are more likely to recruit others than individuals visiting the worse nest

38
Q

Describe CS 2

A

Ants given either two target nests or eight target nests

39
Q

What are the expected results of CS 2?

A

If there is cognitive overload, they will make more good colonies in the 2 option condition and will make an equal number of good/bad colonies in the 8 option condition

If there is no cognitive overload, they will make more good colonies in both conditions

40
Q

What were the results of CS 2

A

Individual ants experienced cognitive overload, colonies do not

41
Q

What else was found in CS 2

A

Individual ants NOT in colonies visited more nests than individual ants in colonies

42
Q

What were the conclusions of CS 2

A

Colonies have a larger cognitive capacity than individuals because colonies distribute cognitive tasks among individuals

43
Q

What did CS 3 look at

A

When and how do individuals outperform groups?

44
Q

Describe the psychophysics of brightness discrimination

A

Alpha = detection point
Higher alpha = worse detection
Lambda = maximum accuracy
Higher lambda = higher maximum accuracy

45
Q

Describe CS 3

A

There was a darker (constant) nest, a middle lit (comparison) nest, and a brightly lit (home) nest

46
Q

What were the results of CS 3

A

Performance of individual ants improves as difference increases

For small differences, performance of colonies exceeds that of individuals

For large differences, individuals outperform colonies

47
Q

What were the conclusions of CS 3

A

Colonies can more precisely discriminate options than individuals
Individuals perform better than colonies when the choice is easy

Animal Minds (17 decks)

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