Amazon has created a distributed human intelligence service:

Amazon Mechanical Turk provides a web services API for computers to integrate "artificial, artificial intelligence" directly into their processing by making requests of humans. Developers use the Amazon Mechanical Turk web services API to submit tasks to the Amazon Mechanical Turk web site, approve completed tasks, and incorporate the answers into their software applications.

To the application, the transaction looks very much like any remote procedure call - the application sends the request, and the service returns the results. In reality, a network of humans fuels this artificial, artificial intelligence by coming to the web site, searching for and completing tasks, and receiving payment for their work.

Source: Amazon Mechanical Turk Overview

Some docs to look at:

• Developer's Guide
• API Reference

Of course, it does not take me very long to also see the potential mis-uses of distributed human intelligence - and I am smiling for two reasons as I write this. For example: automating the interpretation of captchas or of other difficult tasks in order to give the false impression that a bot is a human.

The benefits and hazards that are rapidly coming to mind reflect the power of this idea.

Spotter: Leigh Dodds