The armies of different countries of the world regularly hold war games, discussing the options for the emergence and development of armed conflicts at a round table. Scenarios of forceful countermeasures and preventive strikes, as well as possible consequences, must be verified in advance. However, the group of people involved is always limited, as are the incoming data sets for immediate response. For scientists in social specialties who study the mechanisms of the development of military conflicts in decision-making by certain groups of people, it would be desirable to collect as much information as possible about the reaction to various events and the degree of readiness to press that very notorious βred buttonβ to launch rockets from nuclear warheads.
Soon, scientists will be able to collect an extensive database on the behavior of people responsible for the development of military conflicts. This will be done with the help of a specially created online strategy SIGNAL. Development funds received in the form of a grant from the Carnegie Corporation. The money is allocated to researchers at the University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley). also in researchers from such American research centers as Sandia National Laboratories and Livermore National Laboratory will take part. E. Lawrence.
The study should reveal people's reactions to many random inputs, both economic and military, including interstate relations, the accumulation of resources and the disposal of available means and forces. At the same time, scientists are curious to find out how and what exactly the players from the available military arsenal will use? How easy and how often will players use nuclear weapons? This is not uncommon in strategy games, but for the first time, a scientific approach will be applied to the issue of the exchange of blows with such a formidable weapon, with the collection of extensive information.
By the way, the game will not be limited to studying only the issue of using nuclear weapons. The project will be able to use conventional weapons and cyber attacks. In the future, to study new behavior patterns in choosing the actual method of influencing the enemy, it is planned to introduce drones, lasers, AI and more into the game.
Game formally presented on May 7th. Access to it will be opened from May 15, but game time will be limited to a few hours on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Access can be extended later. Data on the behavior of the players will be collected until the end of the summer, after which the researchers will analyze and draw the first conclusions. SIGNAL is reminiscent of classic board games, where the player can lead one of three hypothetical powers to accumulate resources and expand. Based on the collected statistics on the behavior of players in pre-war and wartime conditions and the chosen methods of conducting military conflicts, scientists expect to issue relevant recommendations to politicians and those responsible for global politics.