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Q: Game Theory and Google Answers ( Answered,   5 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Game Theory and Google Answers
Category: Science > Social Sciences
Asked by: johnfrench-ga
List Price: $8.00
Posted: 23 Apr 2002 18:59 PDT
Expires: 23 May 2002 18:59 PDT
Question ID: 3265
Referring to my comment in response to Question ID: 3231,  "Crime rates for 
different countries," please expand on gaming theory, in particular the 
Prisoner's Dilemma, as a model for Google Answers. A good starting point might 
be: http://www.sfb504.uni-mannheim.de/glossary/game.htm

(Please note: I am not judging the game, only playing, observing, and 
reporting :)
Answer  
Subject: Re: Game Theory and Google Answers
Answered By: athena-ga on 23 Apr 2002 22:49 PDT
 
All publicly available information about Google Answers is available on the 
Google Answers site at: 

www.answers.google.com
Comments  
Subject: Re: Game Theory and Google Answers
From: sycophant-ga on 23 Apr 2002 19:54 PDT
 
As much as I would like to compete with the researchers for this, my application
is still pending, so I will have to satisfy myself as a commenter (certainly not
a player that features in the Prisioner's Dilemma).

In the mean time, I will read up on the games you refer to.
Subject: Re: Game Theory and Google Answers
From: voila-ga on 23 Apr 2002 21:28 PDT
 
Hey, johnfrench, but did you have to take my name in vain?! :-)  Interesting 
comments you make.  I'll certainly check out your Game Theory.

Me?  I happen to be Bloodhound on my mother's side, so I really do enjoy the 
hunt.  

-30-


Ruff,
V
Subject: Re: Game Theory and Google Answers
From: brandon-ga on 24 Apr 2002 07:12 PDT
 
Firstly, the following link has a good, basic discussion of the Prisoner's 
Dilemma:

<A HREF="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/prisoner-
dilemma/">http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/prisoner-dilemma/</A>

I think that while it might be interesting to analyze the model of the google 
answers in terms of game theory, I think the prisoner's dilemma is a poor model 
to use, for the following reasons:

(i) The prisoner's dilemma features two players. Google groups features 
numerous players, with three broad categories of users. 
("Askers", "Researchers", and "Google")
(ii) In the prisoner's dilemma, the crux of the dilemma resides in the fact 
that there seems to be a fundamental symmetry between you and your opponent. 
This symmetry is lacking in the case of Google Answers.

Fundamentally, Google's system reminds me more of the setting of Taxi drivers 
in an urban environment. In the typical situation, the average cab driver is 
either an independent entity, or a subcontractor who works for a taxi company. 
The company is really a glorified dispatching agency, helping cab drivers to 
meet up with potential fares. In less stable markets, cab drivers compete with 
each other more fiercely (imagine a less developed country, where taxi cab 
drivers offer all manner of different car sizes, speeds, safety records, or 
degrees of cleanliness in the cabs they offer their customers!).

In more established markets, the cab rate has been set by some sort of 
overseeing body -- the government, the dispatch agency, or a semi-professional 
organization. Competition is still present, however, particular in places like 
airports, where many cab drivers compete for fares.

The analogy is not perfect, of course, as the customers set the fare rather 
than the cab driver, but many of the other elements are the same. Most 
importantly, there is seldom any reason for the cab drivers to 'compete' with 
the dispatching agency on a regular basis. Over time, the dispatching agency 
and the taxi drivers would probably negotiate a specific amount of revenue to 
go to the agency, but I'm not sure if it would be appropriate to speak of the 
drivers 'competing' with the company at any time other than when the rates are 
set.

Likewise, in the day to day operation of answers.google, the only real 
competition possible is the percentage of the question revenue which Google 
gets. The lion's share of the competition is naturally between the researchers, 
who try to produce accurate and rapid answers as quickly as possible. Along 
with these more "positive" strategies, researchers can also undercut one 
another, by providing more accurate responses via commentary. They can cast the 
original answer in a bad light, causing the customer to ask for clarification, 
or they can simply be gaining a sort of reputation. ("Person Y gave me an 
incomplete answer, but Person X gave me a complete one. Don't let Y answer my 
next question!")

The utility of the researchers remains to be seen. A number of relevant factors 
are:

(i) The value of personal time to the researcher. This also includes jobs where 
researchers must be "on-call" to do other things -- for example, a fireman 
might be able to work on his Google job while awaiting calls, and still end up 
with a standard work week.
(ii) The value of the service to the askers, particularly in regards to the 
amount they're willing to pay.
(iii) The amount of intra-researcher competition. (This is presumably a 
function of the number of researchers.)
(iv) The fraction of the pot Google takes. 

In regards to the specific fate of the researchers, consider that the internet 
has seen a fair-sized minority of its population able and willing to spread 
information to other users. We see this in the creation of the open directory 
project, the open source movement, or even file sharing networks. In all these 
cases, the only really pay-off is the vague intangible that is fame. It seems 
more than this, though, given how many of these people labor without 
recognition. Regardless of the psychological profiles of these 'contributors', 
however, is a simple fact: Google Answers allows them to continue doing what 
they were doing for free -- but now they can receive renumeration from it. The 
public nature of the answers and the commentaries also seems to play into what 
these sorts of people are really into in the first place -- the public 
dissemination of information writ large.

Finally, on a personal note, I think that the mathematics of the Google Answers 
model are very interesting, and might prove a case study in game theory. The 
previous comparison to taxi cab drivers, dispatchers, and fares is a strong one 
I believe, but more remains to be said given a detailed analysis.

Some relevant reading:

1. <A HREF="http://www-irps.ucsd.edu/irps/faculty/auctions.html">http://www-
irps.ucsd.edu/irps/faculty/auctions.html</A>

This link discusses auctioning off public resources, and has a bit about how an 
example of this is the selling of cab medallions in places like New York City. 
It suggests that Google might one day have to limit the number of researchers, 
in order to make the job lucrative enough to support them. 

2.<A HREF="http://www.constitution.org/prisdilm.htm"> 
http://www.constitution.org/prisdilm.htm</A>

This link is a hub which links to a number of Prisoner's Dilemma web pages, 
including numerous connections to sites that simulate individual runs of the 
PD, or large simulations of various strategies.
Subject: Re: Game Theory and Google Answers
From: pnoeric-ga on 24 Apr 2002 08:41 PDT
 
Fascinating.
Subject: Re: Game Theory and Google Answers
From: mvguy-ga on 24 Apr 2002 09:38 PDT
 
It is true, as brandon-ga suggests in his excellent commentary, that
the prisoner model is inadequate.  However, there is a major
similarity that should be mentioned: it very well could be that if all
researches acted in their own self-interest they would end up with
less reward (at least the monetary reward) than if they act selflessly
some of the time.  What complicates the matter, as brandon-ga also
noted, is the nonmonetary rewards.  It certainly will be interesting
to see how the dynamics of Google Answers play out.

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