Robots have historically been accused of taking jobs away from humans, so a software bot that hands out tasks for people to carry out may make a refreshing change.
Suggestbot, developed by Dan Cosley at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and colleagues, could help online communities such as Wikipedia and Slashdot distribute editing tasks. Such organisations rely on members to add and edit content but, as work piles up, it can be hard even for dedicated users to pick out appropriate tasks.
Suggestbot links tasks with people’s interests. It can comb through thousands of Wikipedia articles with a “needs…
