Computer scientists publish insights into the realm of social machines

An interdisciplinary research programme spearheaded by computer scientists from University of Southampton has published a new book covering The Theory and Practice of Social Machines.

The new book, which was co-authored by Regius Professor of Computer Science Dame Wendy Hall, represents the fullest and most complete discussion of social machines to date.

Social machines are networks of people and devices at scale, with behaviour co-constituted by human participants and technological components. The book is the latest output of the SOCIAM project, which brought together experts from the University of Oxford, University of Southampton and University of Edinburgh.

It describes the set of tools and techniques developed within SOCIAM for investigating, constructing and facilitating social machines, considers the ethical issues relating to privacy and trust, and speculates on future research trends.

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