Throughout the entire GameStop saga, I\u2019ve been doing a lot of thinking about the idea of a hive mind. I\u2019ve dedicated an entire chapter in my forthcoming book to this idea and I wanted to get Tim\u2019s perspective. I first came across his work on hive minds when I saw his Ted Talk, \u201cChanging the hive mind — How social media manipulation affects everything\u201d. In it, he explores how even a single like can influence huge amounts of people if done at the right time! We talked through social media manipulation, the idea of hive minds on the internet, the separation between the online and offline world, and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tim Weninger is the Frank M. Freimann Collegiate Associate Professor of Engineering in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Notre Dame. His research is in machine learning, network science and social media. He\u2019s interested in uncovering how humans consume and curate information. Tim has done work on the Center for Network and Data Science, the Pulte Institute for Global Development, and the Technology Ethics Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n