Counter-Terrorists Study WoW

Wired.com is reporting that counter-terrorism experts have been watching World of Warcraft for clues about terror tactics. The human element in the planning and carrying out terrorist plots give scientists a better idea than computer simulated exercises:

Charles Blair, deputy director of the Center for Terrorism and Intelligence Studies, said he thinks the game could provide a powerful new way to study how terrorist cells form and operate. His organization already uses computer models to study terrorists' tactical decision-making, but World of Warcraft's army of players adds a realistic dimension that might prove more enlightening than even the best baked-in artificial intelligence.

"The main strength is that [Warcraft] involves 'real' people making real decisions in a world with some kind of [controllable] bounds," said Blair, who said studying players' actions could prove useful to military intelligence analysts. "To put it academically, you have both dependent and independent variables."

This is definitely an article to read. Be sure to check it out.

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