Annenberg Research Seminar: Wisdom of the Crowd and Collective Intelligence

The advancement of information technology has fundamentally changed how people are organized to create value. Geographically dispersed individuals are now participating in a sharing economy by exchanging, sharing, and pooling their cars, accommodation, knowledge, talent, time, labor and funds to complete tasks previously too costly.

Professor Lian Jian’s research is centered on the following question, how can groups of people be mobilized to achieve collective goals without the formal structure of organizations such as firms and governments? Individuals are autonomous participants in the sharing economy. They have their own objectives that may or may not be aligned with what is intended by the online platforms that host their activities. Understanding how these systems function requires solid theoretical and empirical research on individual motivations and behaviors.

Lunch will be served. No RSVP needed.