Collective intelligence enables us to achieve higher order solutions which we could never formulate as individuals or small groups. Putting together algorithms capable of aggregating and leveraging our collective intelligence might not be easy but it is possible, according to an article on the management-issues.com website.
In the case of new innovative meetings mentioned in the previous article, it was a success thanks to the natural traits of collective intelligence. These are:
High intelligence: These meetings, or rather workshops, resulted in highly intelligent proposals. Participants subsequently agreed that they would never have created these solutions on their own.
High speed: The fundamental dynamic of debates is persuasion. A combination of different points of view allows a thorough evaluation of proposals. The path to knowledge is faster when one moves beyond the limitations of an individual brain. Workshops offer a network of interconnected brains, not merely a sum total of them all. During workshops, debate often wasn’t necessary because collective thinking emerged through the group voting process.
Unbiased views: Solutions formulated in the workshops were devoid of individual biases. There were usually some 40 participants. In order to reach unbiased solutions, the process was designed to produce higher order solutions and not merely those representing the lowest common denominator, as tends to be the result of traditional debates.
Natural benevolence: Unbiased solutions emerge from an aggregation and blending of apparently opposing elements into something that is viable. Therefore, providing the process is properly set up, there is no reason to demonise any of the solutions which are proposed.
-jk-