Google uses the collective intelligence of the entire web to present impressively accurate answers to questions typed into the Google search engine. Wikipedia is the world’s largest encyclopedia, offering high quality information with practically no centralized control. The clothing company Threadless allows people to submit t-shirt designs to a weekly contest, then produces a select few designs from those that are most highly rated by users. So this means that for businesses, collective intelligence can be used to (a) know consumer desires and (b) create products that satisfy these desires at little to no cost.

Examples of the success of collective intelligence in companies

Collective Intelligence in the modern age is having a big impact on how crises are seen and dealt with. Scholars are interested in how social media plays a role in the creation of collective intelligence during a crisis.  

Using Collective Intelligence in Crises

In 2009 Tim Gower's attempted to conduct a mathematical theorem using massive collaboration. By way of a blog he invited anyone on the internet to collaborate in providing a theorem. Ultimately the project included 39 people that made a total of over 1500 comments 

Gower’s Collaborative Theorem

Early humans used social skills to work together to protect themselves from predators and to successfully hunt. Communication proved an invaluable tool in allowing for this arrangement. 


Early Humans and Collective Intelligence

Diversified and specialized social roles developed with the agricultural revolution. This required many people doing many more specific tasks. The result was the vast growth of the human population from 12,000 years ago until 1700 CE. This was facilitated by advancements in communication, such as writing. 

Collective Intelligence in the Agricultural Revolution

The Industrial Revolution, starting in the 1700s, marked a period of significant collective intelligence and productivity growth. Factories and machines, combined with innovative organizational methods, increased productivity. For example, the division of labor in a pin factory led to substantial efficiency gains. This era also saw the rise of larger communities, such as the global scientific community, facilitated by evolving information technologies. The world population grew from 600 million to over 7 billion in 300 years, highlighting human dominance over the planet, which now presents its own challenges. These outcomes were not solely due to individual intelligence but the result of collectively intelligent groups of people and their technologies.

Collective Intelligence in the Industrial Revolution

- Gower's Collaborative Theorem
- Collective Intelligence in Early Humans
- Collective Intelligence in the Agricultural Revolution
- Collective Intelligence in the Industrial Revolution
- Collective Intelligence in Businesses
- Collective Intelligence in Crises

San Jose State University

Shared or group intelligence that emerges from the collaboration, collective efforts, and competition of many individuals. When groups of people work together, they create intelligence that cannot exist on an individual level.

Collective Intelligence

Intelligence is a complex cognitive characteristic involving the capacity to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. It enables individuals to reason, solve problems, plan, and adapt to new situations using logic, understanding, and creativity. Numerous theories have been developed to explain its nature, such as Sternberg's triarchic theory and Gardner's proposal that intelligence comprises multiple factors. Other perspectives also emphasize the significance of emotional intelligence.

Intelligence

Malone, Thomas W. 2018. Superminds: The Surprising Power of People and Computers Thinking Together. Little, Brown Spark.

https://cci.mit.edu/superminds-by-thomas-w-malone/

Superminds: The Surprising Power of People and Computers Thinking Together

Diversity in a group of individuals information, knowledge, representations, mental models and heuristics. It can improve problem solving, predicting and designing.

Cognitive Diversity

- Superadditive Intelligence (Wisdom of Crowds)
- Emergent Intelligence

Types of Collective Intelligence

Collective intelligence results from the collaboration of many individuals. People bring their own unique knowledge base and way of thinking. Since there are many unique individuals working together, many barriers can occur that prevent collective intelligence from reaching its full potential. One main barrier to collective intelligence is a lack of awareness of a subject. If people do not consider a subject important enough, then they would not be willing to work together to address a subject. Other main barriers can result from the education system. If the school does not address a subject enough in developing coursework, then it is likely to receive very little attention in the future. For example, the ocean has often been neglected in scheduled lessons, which has resulted in a low collective intelligence in the subject, subsequently leading to some people polluting the ocean and others unsure of how to save it. 



Barriers to Collective Intelligence

Conflict that has reached into the governmental system and involves guerrilla groups has impeded Colombia’s development, leading to a diminishing of the country’s collective intelligence and its ability to work together to address issues. The goal is to provide spaces in the city where opposing groups can resolve conflict in civil, non-violent ways and social issues can be addressed using the collective intelligence of the citizenry.

Social issues undermine collective intelligence

Examples of Collective Intelligence

Collective Intelligence can be measured through the actions of a group and their ability to efficiently perform a variety of tasks. More specifically through a comparison of the group's ability to perform one task which is then correlated with the same group's ability to perform a variety of other tasks. 

Measurement of Collective Intelligence 

- Information Technology
- Collective Intelligence in Marine Science

Improving Collective Intelligence

Collective Intelligence References

Collective intelligence functions as superminds by encompassing groups of people and computers as cohesive entities with scientifically measurable properties.

Collective Intelligence as Superminds

Anita Woolley and their team found that groups, like individuals, possess a single statistical factor, akin to individual intelligence, which predicts their performance across various tasks. Termed collective intelligence, this group factor mirrors the concept of general intelligence found in individuals, shedding light on what makes groups effective across tasks. In initial studies, it was assessed whether collective intelligence could predict performance on tasks not included in its calculation. Groups were assigned complex tasks requiring a combination of abilities, like playing checkers against a computer or constructing structures with building blocks under specific rules. Results revealed that collective intelligence scores strongly predicted performance on these complex tasks, surpassing the predictive power of either the group members' average or maximum individual intelligence.

Collective Intelligence is a Group's General Intelligence

The word "Supermind" is defined in Collins dictionary as “a powerful combination of many individual minds.”

Thomas W. Malone in his book "Superminds" identified the following four components in the definition of Supermind:
- A Group
- Of Individuals
- Acting Together
- In Ways That Seem Intelligent

Superminds

Which of the following is a key component of intelligence?

Cultural intelligence, also known as cultural competence, is the ability to effectively relate to and adapt to the norms and values of a different culture. This skill is particularly exemplified by how well an individual can navigate a society that prioritizes collective values over individual achievements.

Cultural Intelligence / Cultural Competence

Which of the following best illustrates the use of intelligence in a real-world scenario?

Data is important information that showcases human behavior and events happening in the world. There are different types of data, as it can be either qualitative or quantitative. It can either be a compilation of digital information for software programs or a simple compilation of facts that can also be used in businesses. In order to ensure accurate data, it is important to combine data sets and delete any data that is incorrectly replicated. Data is often used in collective intelligence, as people share their knowledge of various types and grouping of information. In the act of collective intelligence, people can share either qualitative or quantitative data in order to enhance the knowledge of the group.

Data 

Emotional intelligence involves the capacity to comprehend the emotions of oneself and others, demonstrate empathy, interpret social relationships and cues, and manage one's own emotions to respond in culturally appropriate ways.

Emotional Intelligence

Which of the following activities is most indicative of intelligence?

Whether intelligence, especially high intelligence, comes from nature or the individual's upbringing has been a topic of interest of many scholars. Rather than these two ideas being mutually exclusive in terms of influence, it is possible that both nature and nurture play a part in one's intelligence.

Intelligence: Nature and Nurture

Which of the following best describes the concept of intelligence?

Cognitive development refers to the changes in an individual's mental processes. This domain includes the development of learning, attention, memory, language abilities, thinking, reasoning skills, and creativity.

Cognitive Development

- Specialized Intelligence
- General Intelligence

Types of Intelligence

Theories of intelligence include:

- Implicit theories of intelligence
- Raymond Cattell's Theory of Intelligence
- Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
- Multiple Intelligences Theory
- Range of Reaction Theory 

Theories of Intelligence

An anecdote illustrating the emergence of intelligence involves a four-and-a-half-year-old boy who, without formal instruction, demonstrates reading ability. Initially, he surprises his father by reading "Go, Pig! Go!" from a storybook. To test this further, his father writes a list of simple words (mom, dad, dog, etc.), which the boy also reads correctly. This observation leads the father to question whether his son's ability indicates exceptional intelligence or is a normal part of linguistic development.

Example of Early Reading as a Sign of Intelligence

A central challenge in psychology is defining and measuring intelligence. This inquiry questions the limitations of focusing solely on traditional academic intelligence and raises fundamental questions about how to measure cognitive abilities effectively. A key concern is ensuring that measurement tools, like IQ tests, are valid—meaning they accurately capture the concept of intelligence they are designed to assess.

Psychological Inquiry into Intelligence

A key challenge in assessing intelligence is differentiating between abilities that signify exceptional cognitive capacity and those that are part of a normal, albeit potentially advanced, developmental trajectory. For instance, a child's early reading ability could be interpreted as a sign of high intelligence or simply as a normal phase of linguistic development.

Distinguishing Exceptional Intelligence from Normal Development

The concept of intelligence is not universal; its meaning and the traits considered valuable can vary significantly across different cultures. For instance, in a society where survival depends on practical skills, abilities like fishing or boat maintenance would be hallmarks of intelligence, rather than purely academic achievements.

Cultural Definitions of Intelligence

A comprehensive understanding of intelligence testing involves examining three main areas: the methods used for their development, such as standardization and norming; the historical application and misuse of these tests; and the purposes and benefits they offer.

Key Topics in Intelligence Testing

Intelligence can be measured through different ways:
- Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
- Standardization
- Norming

Measures of Intelligence

The triarchic theory of intelligence, developed by Robert Sternberg, is one of several prominent models designed to explain the fundamental nature and workings of intelligence.

Sternberg's Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

Howard Gardner's theory of intelligence posits that intelligence is not a single, monolithic ability but is instead composed of multiple distinct factors or types of intelligence.

Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Creativity is considered to be a facet of intelligence, indicating a strong link between the two concepts. A primary challenge in exploring this relationship is that creativity is exceptionally difficult to measure objectively.

Relationship Between Creativity and Intelligence

Some theorists and psychologists argue that intelligence should be defined in more practical terms, focusing on the behaviors and skills that promote success and help individuals get ahead in life, rather than just the ability to memorize facts, such as reciting all of the United States presidents in order.

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