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What do we mean by Smarter? The presentation argues that the "smartness" of "smart systems" is not just a product of technology, but that systems can be smart by engaging people and providing a means of integrating their knowledge and expertise. Provides an array of examples, and a close look at Cyclopath, a geowiki that supports the finding of bike-friendly routes around a city.
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Building a Smarter Planet
What do we mean by Smarter?Tapping the Social Intelligence of Cities and Regions
Talk delivered to the Smarter Planet Advisory Board, October 19, 2010
Thomas [email protected] Computing GroupIBM T. J. Watson Research Center
Building a Smarter PlanetIntroduction
What do we mean by a “smarter” planet?
2 Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.
Building a Smarter PlanetIntroduction
Two views of ‘smartness’
‘Smartness’ = technology• Sensors and meters to collect data• Aggregate and analyze the data• And use that as input to dashboards,
visualizations and control systems• People treated as passive and compliant
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.3
Building a Smarter PlanetIntroduction
Two views of ‘smartness’
‘Smartness’ = technology• Sensors and meters to collect data• Aggregate and analyze the data• And use that as input to dashboards,
visualizations and control systems• People treated as passive and compliant
‘Smartness’ = people People can gather data People can analyze data People can act on data
and they do this in ways that are qualitatively different from what digital systems do
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.4
Building a Smarter PlanetIntroduction
Two views of ‘smartness’
‘Smartness’ = technology• Sensors and meters to collect data• Aggregate and analyze the data• And use that as input to dashboards,
visualizations and control systems• People treated as passive and compliant
‘Smartness’ = people People can gather data People can analyze data People can act on data
and they do this in ways that are qualitatively different from what digital systems do
Both/And NOT either/or
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.5
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence
Using the perceptual, cognitive and enactive abilities of large numbers of people to achieve purposeful ends
6 Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence
Social intelligence is the use of the perceptual, cognitive and enactive abilities of large numbers of people to achieve purposeful ends
Examples grassroots crisis response (also see Usahidi)
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.7
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence
Social intelligence is the use of the perceptual, cognitive and enactive abilities of large numbers of people to achieve purposeful ends
Examples grassroots crisis response von Ahn’s ESP game (also see “Games with a Purpose)
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.8
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence
Social intelligence is the use of the perceptual, cognitive and enactive abilities of large numbers of people to achieve purposeful ends
Examples grassroots crisis response von Ahn’s ESP game Wikipedia
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.9
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence
Social intelligence is the use of the perceptual, cognitive and enactive abilities of large numbers of people to achieve purposeful ends
Examples grassroots crisis response von Ahn’s ESP game Wikipedia
None of these examples – or anything like them –existed ten years ago
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.10
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions
Social intelligence is particularly suited to being applied to make cities and regions smarter.
11
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions
Social Intelligence is especially appropriate for cities and regions That’s where the people are Inhabitants develop a deep knowledge of the places they live, work and socialize in Inhabitants have a practical motivation for participating: it impacts their daily lives Inhabitants identify with places, and have networks of family and friends
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.12
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions
But, as yet, socially intelligent systems for cities are in their infancy Perhaps simply a matter of critical mass
Let’s see what’s out there…
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.13
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Taxonomy
Urban Systems: Informing* Making information accessible
Crime maps Maps of the urban forest Tourist information
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.14
* Not social intelligence
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Taxonomy
Urban Systems: Transacting Supporting 2-way private interactions
Crime tip solicitation Expense report analysis Mass surveillance
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.15
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Taxonomy
Urban Systems: Sharing Public sharing of knowledge
Reporting potholes and other street problems GreenWatch: wearable pollution monitoring sensors FourSquare: checking into and registering tips about places
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.16
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Taxonomy
Urban Systems: Co-producing People work closely together to produce a coherent product
Community Wikis Cyclopath: a user-editable map for finding bicycle-friendly routes
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.17
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Example
Problem: Finding bike-friendly routes around the Twin Cities Good bike routes differ
from good driving routes
18 Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Example
Problem: Finding bike-friendly routes around the Twin Cities Good bike routes differ
from good driving routes
1. Start out in opposite direction to avoid busy main street
2. Take side street that has lights at two busy crossings
5. Although greenway continues in right direction, take Park Ave due to bike lane3. Enter greenway bike path
via “intersection
4. This section of bike path goes through beautiful community gardens
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.19
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Example
Problem: Finding bike-friendly routes around the Twin Cities Good bike routes differ
from good driving routes Much of the information
that makes this a good route isn’t on regular maps
1. Start out in opposite direction to avoid busy main street
2. Take side street that has lights at two busy crossings
5. Although greenway continues in right direction, take Park Ave due to bike lane3. Enter greenway bike path
via “intersection
4. This section of bike path goes through beautiful community gardens
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.20
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Solution: Cyclopath A user-editable map
(a geowiki) with ‘official’ data
(e.g., USGS, MNDoT) and user-entered
data
Notes: This is not by IBM,
although it has a few small connections
Cyclopath is open source, and a product of the GroupLens lab at the University of Minnesota
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
21 Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
The User Interface Map and map key
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.22
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
The User Interface Map and map key Map controls
edit, zoom, pan
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.23
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
The User Interface Map and map key Map controls Control panels
request routes, adjust view, revert changes, etc.
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.24
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Map elements Blocks (street) Points
Block Point
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.25
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Map elements Blocks (street) Points Tags (points) Notes (points)
Tags
Notes
for this point
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.26
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter Planet
Social Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Map elements Blocks (street) Points Tags (points, blocks) Notes (points, blocks)
Tags
for this block
Notes
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.27
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter Planet
Social Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Map elements Blocks (street) Points Tags (points, blocks) Notes (points, blocks) Ratings (blocks only) personal (private) estimated (from others) computed (from MN DoT data)
Rating
for this block
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.28
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Map elements Blocks (street) Points Tags (points, blocks) Notes (points, blocks) Ratings (blocks only) Intersections How streets connect (or not)
Intersection
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.29
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Map elements Blocks (street) Points Tags (points, blocks) Notes (points, blocks) Ratings (blocks only) Intersections
• How streets connect (or not)
•Important for computing routes – data often missing or inaccurate for bikes
Intersections?
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.30
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Map elements Blocks (street) Points Tags (points, blocks) Notes (points, blocks) Ratings (blocks only) Intersections Regions (not shown)
• Public (neighborhoods)
• Private(watch regions)
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.31
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Editing Users need to edit
data because it might be missing it might be wrong it might be
misaligned and users have a
deep qualitative knowledge of places the is rarely found in official data sets
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.32
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Editing example Here’s a street I
added. I gave it a name, a type, and a bikeability rating
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.33
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Editing example Here’s a street I
added. I gave it a name, a type, and a bikeability rating
And I can set a “watch region” so I can see if anyone changes it
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.34
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Editing example Here’s a street I
added. I gave it a name, a type, and a bikeability rating
And I can set a “watch region” so I can see if anyone changes it
Later on, someone else added the tag “unpaved”
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.35
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Editing example Here’s a street I
added. I gave it a name, a type, and a bikeability rating
And I can set a “watch region” so I can see if anyone changes it
Later on, someone else added the tag “unpaved”
Later I added a note
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.36
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Computing routes Now we can use all
this data to compute bike-friendly routes
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.37
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Computing routes Now we can use all
this data to compute bike-friendly routes Enter From and To
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.38
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Computing routes Now we can use all
this data to compute bike-friendly routes Enter From and To Decide whether to
minimize distance or favor bikeability
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.39
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Computing routes Now we can use all
this data to compute bike-friendly routes Enter From and To Decide whether to
minimize distance or favor bikeability
And select tags to avoid, bonus or penalize when computing route
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.40
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Computing routes Now we can use all
this data to compute bike-friendly routes• Enter From and To• Decide whether to
minimize distance or favor bikeability
• And select tags to avoid, bonus or penalize when computing route
Notice that much of this data is user entered: point names, tags, bikeability
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.41
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Computing routes The route
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.42
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Computing routes The route
Can be color-coded according to various dimensions (e.g., hills, bikeability)
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.43
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Computing routes The route
Can be color-coded according to various dimensions (e.g., hills, bikeability)
Has a cue sheet
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.44
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Computing routes The route
Can be color-coded according to various dimensions (e.g., hills, bikeability)
Has a cue sheet Feedback can be
provided
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.45
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Computing routes The route
Notice: my route starts out in the “wrong” direction – but that’s good because it avoids busy streets
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.46
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Computing routes The route
Notice: my route starts out in the “wrong” direction – but that’s good because it avoids busy streets
And it has the other advantages I mentioned earlier
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.47
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Computing routes The route
Notice: my route starts out in the “wrong” direction – but that’s good because it avoids busy streets
And it has the other advantages I mentioned earlier
And the route is also half a mileshorter than that offered by Google Maps’ new bike routing feature
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.48
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Does it really work? Will people really use it? Will people go to the trouble of adding data? Will the added data make a difference?
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.49
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Does it really work? It’s used! (in season)
1,500 registered users in all
daily: 15-30 registered logins; 150 unregistered
150 route requests per day
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.50
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Does it really work? Edits matter
~10,000 edits by 400+ users
When routes requested during first 2 weeks were recomputed 9 months later (i.e. with 9 months of user-added data), the new routes were about 1K shorter (14.813.8L)
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.51
Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. ~ GroupLens Lab, University of Minnesota
For example: indicating “connectivity” between Como Ave and the Intercampus Transitway allowed computation of a new route that
is .6 K shorter than the old route
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
An experiment:“Work Hints” Is it possible to
elicit and focussocial intelligence?
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.52
Priedhorsky, Masli, Terveen CHI ‘10
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
An experiment:“Work Hints” Is it possible to
elicit and focussocial intelligence?
Try asking people
Cyclopath needs your help
“…We have created a system which will automatically
direct you to areas of the map that need work (more
bikeability ratings entered or edits to the geography of the
map itself)…”
<link to “work hints” window>
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.53
Priedhorsky, Masli, Terveen CHI ‘10
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
An experiment:“Work Hints” Is it possible to
elicit and focussocial intelligence?
Try asking people• Direct a person to
an area that needs work
• let them work until they’re ‘done’
• ask if they want to do another area
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.54
Priedhorsky, Masli, Terveen CHI ‘10
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
An experiment:“Work Hints” Is it possible to
elicit and focussocial intelligence?
Try asking people• Direct a person to
an area that needs work
• let them work until they’re ‘done’
• ask if they want to do another area
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.55
Priedhorsky, Masli, Terveen CHI ‘10
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
“Work Hints” results: a surprise People did about the
same amount of work per trial
BUT they did three times as many trials: 17.7 vs 5.0 trials
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.56
Priedhorsky, Masli, Terveen CHI ‘10
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
“Work Hints” results: in general Visually highlighting
work opportunities leads to more work
Users do ‘extra’ work (beyond what is highlighted)
Taking users to areas they are familiar with leads to more work of certain types
Issuing a “call to action” and visually highlighting causes a broader range of users to do work (and moreover the “lead workers” are different)
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.57
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Cyclopath Futures Cyclopath doesn’t have to be
about bicyclists skiers (iceWiki) walkers disabled urban tourists local history garden clubs
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.58
Building a Smarter PlanetSocial Intelligence in Cities & Regions: Cyclopath
Cyclopath Futures Cyclopath doesn’t have to be
about bicyclists Nor does it have to be just for
route finding ‘what if’ planning keeping inventories tracking change over time visualizing resources and
resource use
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.59
Building a Smarter PlanetClosing Remarks
Recap and takeaways…
60 Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.
Building a Smarter PlanetClosing Remarks
Two types of smartness Technical AND social
(complementary, not exclusive) …and IBM needs to pay more
attention to the social part…
61 Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.
Building a Smarter PlanetClosing Remarks
Social intelligence is old; what’s new is that digital systems enable it to take new and powerful forms
None of these examples – or anything like them –existed ten years ago
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.62
Building a Smarter PlanetClosing Remarks
Cyclopath is a neat example of an important new class of apps that combine human-sourced knowledge with digital data to create a common resource provide mechanisms for eliciting and focusing human work to enhance the resource enable computations that provide resource-based services offer the potential of providing a platform for community collaboration
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.63
Building a Smarter PlanetClosing Remarks
Takeaways People have rich and nuanced knowledge of their habitats People are willing to do work to contribute this knowledge Systems can be designed so that they can elicit and focus such work If the elicited knowledge is in a form that digital systems can use,
the knowledge can be used in computations and services
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.64
Building a Smarter PlanetClosing Remarks
Takeaways People have rich and nuanced knowledge of their habitats People are willing to do work to contribute this knowledge Systems can be designed so that they can elicit and focus such work If the elicited knowledge is in a form that digital systems can use,
the knowledge can be used in computations and services
Two conjectures People who are collocated in cities and regions offer particularly fertile ground for social
intelligence because of their deep knowledge and local motivation Smart systems that succeed in getting people to participate – in providing, analyzing
and acting on knowledge – are more likely to be seen as acceptable and legitimate
Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.65
Building a Smarter PlanetClosing Remarks
Credits and Connections The ESP Game is by Luis von Ahn and colleagues at CMU The Cyclopath project is by Terveen, Priedhorsky, et al. at the University of Minnesota
(Priedhorsky started at IBM Research in Cambridge, in September 2010)
I can be reached at Thomas Erickson/Watson/IBM or [email protected], and browsed at http://www.visi.com/~snowfall
66 Thomas Erickson, Social Computing Group, IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.