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Software Agents Can Help Time-Stressed Teams
Roland Piquepaille writes "Penn State researchers have developed software agents which can help human teams to react more accurately and quickly in time-stressed situations than human teams acting alone. According to this news release, the software was tested in a military command-and-control simulation. "When time pressures were normal, the human teams functioned well, sharing information and making correct decisions about the potential threat." But when the pressure increased, the human teams made errors who would have cost lives in real situations. The decisions taken by agent-supported human teams were much better. Now, it remains to be seen if this software can be used in other stressful situations, such as for emergency management operations. Read more for other details, references and illustrations about this project."
What would be interesting is if the software agent could be programmed/adapted for each individual team. The team uses those single word/syllable communication methods, and the computer is made to understand them (during training exercises). Then, in high-stress situations, when that word/syllable is uttered by one of the teammates, the communication is put into the software system. The computer knows what all the team members collectively knows. Then it is able to make recommendations on course of action that the individual team members might not be able to make, due to the way humans are affected by stress.
The way I see this, it doesn't replace good people, good training, and good exercises, it merely assists the people when they need it. I think it could be interesing. It would only work, however, if it were completely transparent. No little application running outside of their normal software suite that pops up and asks for confirmation. Instead, it should be built into the software they normally use and should alert the user only when it has a recommendation. All users are notified simultaneously, or it could be given only to the team leader, who could have final say over whether the computer recommendation is valid or not.
I can even see this kind of system reducing the stress for teams in these situations.
Lack of eloquence does not denote lack of intelligence, though they often coincide.
Simplistics attitudes like this get in the way of real decision making.
What if by allocating resources to this project, the project to build a resource allocation system for medical personnel is scrapped?
Anyone who says "If it saves only one life..." has turned off their brain. How about this... We take your house and turn it into a homeless shelter (you included). It will save several lives. If we do it to 100 people in 50 cities in colder climates, we can save hundreds of lives in one winter, for almost no money.