Gaming Cancer

Can experimenting with game design increase our chances of finding a cure for cancer?

Cancer is crafty, forcing us to be just as clever in our efforts to outfox it—and we’ve made excellent progress, but is it time for a new play in the playbook? In Gaming Cancer, Jeff Yoshimi proposes a new approach to fighting an increasingly exhausting war. By putting the work of cancer research into the hands of nonspecialists, Yoshimi believes, we can accelerate the process of outgaming the disease once and for all.

Gamers have already used “serious games” to discover new galaxies, digitize ancient texts, decode viruses, and solve theoretical problems in neuroscience. Cancer is a multilayered threat, and our best bet at overcoming it is via more minds working in concert. Gaming Cancer is an instruction manual for engineering games that motivate users to strain and sweat to find cancer cures. It integrates game design with research in cancer biology, data visualization techniques, and developments in cognitive science and AI while remaining sensitive to the limitations of citizen science and ethical concerns. Yoshimi sees in cutting-edge game technology the potential to educate and empower people to outwit cancer, an indirect route to richer science literacy that draws on the boundless resources of the mind.

This book offers anyone invested in beating this seemingly intractable disease a concrete playbook that combines real science with creative vision in an effort to defeat the boss monster, cancer.Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
2. The Goal
3. The Main Argument
4. Cancer Biology
5. Cancer Treatment and Prevention
6. Scientific Discovery Games
7. Gamifying Artificial Intelligence
8. Automated Scientific Discovery
9. The Human Problem Solver
10. Beautiful Design
11. Case Studies: Eterna, Foldit, and Nanocrafter
12. Simbody and Cancer Wars
13. The Action Plan
14. The Promise and Danger of Emerging Technology
Notes
References
Index“There is no other book like Gaming Cancer. Yoshimi lays out a grand vision to harmonize crowd intelligence and artificial intelligence toward solving one of humanity’s biggest problems.”
—Rhiju Das, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Professor of Biochemistry and Physics, Stanford University; and Director of Eterna
 
“Blending personal motivation and professional insight, Yoshimi's work is both inspiring and intellectually stimulating. Gaming Cancer is a compelling read for those interested in gaming, cognitive science, and innovative solutions to global challenges.”
—Eran Agmon, Assistant Professor, Center for Cell Analysis and Modeling, University of Connecticut
 
“Yoshimi’s proposal is broad-ranging, ambitious, and firmly normative. The arguments merit serious consideration and have immediate, critical relevance for theorists, practitioners, and a general audience alike.”
—Aleta Quinn, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Idaho; 2024 Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Science and Society
 
“An exciting reflection on the untapped potential of gaming for research and education—filled with insightful advice, beautiful metaphors, and specific calls to action on how both game makers and citizen scientists can contribute to scientific discovery. A must-read!”
—Dr. Beata Mierzwa, Cancer Researcher, UC San Diego; Founder of Beata Science ArtJeff Yoshimi is Professor and a founding faculty member in the Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences and Philosophy at the University of California, Merced. His research areas include neural networks, dynamical systems theory, philosophy of cognitive science, and visualization of complex processes.