- Hierarchies
- Democracies
- Markets
- Communities
- Ecosystems

Types of Superminds

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

Collective Intelligence as Superminds

- Varying Levels of Intelligence in Superminds
- Interaction Patterns within Superminds vs. Human Brains
- Superminds' Objectives vs Individual Members' Objectives
- Inclusivity of Superminds
- Role of Computers in Superminds

Characteristics of Superminds

- A Group
- Of Individuals
- Acting Together
- In Ways that Seem Intelligent

Elements of a Supermind

- Superminds: The Surprising Power of People and Computers Thinking Together
- Organizing Business Knowledge — The MIT Process Handbook

Superminds References

Tools for Organizing Supermind Knowledge

Examples of Superminds

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

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

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

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

Collins English Dictionary

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

- 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

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

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.

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