EckerNet.Com

Congratulations to all World of Warcraft users, your alternative reality finally has a useful purpose:

Scientists have already noted World of Warcraft’s usefulness in studying how diseases spread. The game’s network of 10 million players — each capable of making decisions, either logical or illogical, rational or irrational — gives scientists a ready-made virtual world to scrutinize that’s not based on computer models or artificial intelligence. The game could be an invaluable tool not only for counterterrorists and epidemiologists but also sociologists and economists.

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.

I’m not sure I’m entirely happy that our understanding of terrorists could potentially be based upon the actions of a 12 year old kid who is trying to get in some uber pwnage (or whatever) before his mom finds out about his D in History and grounds him.

On the other hand, that same kid may have the same maturity and decision making ability of your average terrorist.

On yet another hand, the hordes of Ron Paul crazies in the game have gotta skew the results a bit.