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Ant Colonies as a Model of Human Computation

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Abstract

In this chapter we describe how ant colonies are complex systems capable of computation, and we describe the manner in which ants use local information and behavior to produce robust and adaptive colonies. While there are key differences between ant colonies and collections of human agents, the nascent field of human computation can learn from the myriad strategies that ants have evolved for successful cooperation. The cooperative behaviors of ants reflect not just the particular physiology of these insects, but also more general principles for cooperative computation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

    Melanie Moses, Tatiana Flanagan, Kenneth Letendre & Matthew Fricke

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  1. Melanie Moses
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  2. Tatiana Flanagan
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  3. Kenneth Letendre
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  4. Matthew Fricke
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Correspondence to Melanie Moses .

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  1. ThinkSplash, LLC, Fairfax, Virginia, USA

    Pietro Michelucci

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Moses, M., Flanagan, T., Letendre, K., Fricke, M. (2013). Ant Colonies as a Model of Human Computation. In: Michelucci, P. (eds) Handbook of Human Computation. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8806-4_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8806-4_4

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