Handing battlefield decisions to the collective intelligence of robot soldiers sounds risky , but it is the essence of a research project called aladdin .
For example , blackrock is attempting to match buyers and sellers of bonds among its customer base , using its electronic aladdin trading network , which would allow investors to bypass wall street dealers .
Aladdin 's agents-which might include fire alarms in burning buildings , devices carried by emergency services and drones flying over enemy territory-collect and process data using a range of algorithms that form the core of the project .