Last week at an NG Live event here at National Geographic Headquarters in Washington, D.C., Emerging Explorer and swarm theory biologist Iain Couzin joined Nobel Laureate and chemist Mario Molina for a conversation led by Boyd Matson, host of National Geographic Weekend.
These two scientists come from different research backgrounds but have a shared interest: understanding why groups behave the way they do.
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2012 Emerging Explorer Iain Couzin. Photo: Simon Garnier
Mario was one of the discoverers of the negative effects that CFCs were having on the ozone layer. Realizing the worldwide dangers, he then worked with individuals and groups, large and small, in industry and government, to cease the usage of these chemicals. By pulling together humans on a large scale, he was able to help avert what could have been an ecological disaster.
Iain’s work on the other hand tracks locusts swarming in a plastic bucket. Or birds flocking. Or fish schooling. Or people milling about. By tracking their movements with advanced software, and comparing them with computer simulations, he and his team are discovering the simple underlying factors that sometimes determine seemingly complex group behavior.
The Big Question
Given the example of Mario having important information that he needed everyone to respond to, and Iain’s insights into how simple influences can control the action of large groups, host Boyd Matson asked about the implications for all this research: Could we use learnings from swarm theory to control people’s behavior for the betterment of society? More importantly, should we?
Iain Couzin was quick to clarify that he is not interested at all in controlling human group behavior, whether for commercial or political reasons, good, bad, or ugly. He’s simply in pursuit of knowledge of how these things work. He then set everyone’s fears to rest by pointing out that in experiments, as in real life, people are a lot more complex than locusts, and no one’s going to control them any time soon.
What’s Your Take?
So what do you think about all of this? Do you think it’s just a matter of time before people can steer crowds to do their bidding?
Would you use that influence if you had it?
Are there some times where it would be acceptable and other times where it wouldn’t? Would you steer a crowd to save them from a natural disaster? Would you steer a crowd to keep them from smoking?
Weigh in using the comments below!
Learn More
NatGeo Weekend’s Boyd Matson interviews Iain Couzin
Photo Gallery: Swarm Behavior
Follow Iain on Twitter