Being Good at Collective Intelligence and Collective Action

A short étude on collective intelligence and collective action in humans. Curated by Peter Kaminski, who was prompting Claude Sonnet 3.5 (new). Last major update 2024-10-31, minor update 2024-11-01.

Premise: As a species, we are (not yet) good at collective intelligence and collective action at many levels of scale.

What now? What next?

Four takes: Technological Focus, Organizational Focus, Cognitive Focus, Evolutionary Focus.

What other focuses can you think of? How would you manage keeping all of them in mind, while delving into a particular one deeply enough to make a difference in the world?

Version 1 - Technological Focus

Where I wish we were:

As a species, we are good at collective intelligence and collective action at many levels of scale.

Where we actually are:

We have built powerful tools for connection and collaboration, but often use them to create echo chambers and amplify division. Our social media platforms, rather than harnessing our collective wisdom, frequently surface emotional rather than thoughtful content. While we have the technological infrastructure for unprecedented coordination, we struggle to align it toward shared goals rather than fragmented interests.

Practical ways we could get there:

• Redesign social media algorithms to reward thoughtful dialogue and collaborative problem-solving rather than engagement at any cost
• Develop and promote platforms specifically designed for collective intelligence (like scaled deliberative democracy tools)
• Create better visualization tools that help people understand complex systems and the long-term consequences of collective decisions
• Build technological infrastructure for micro-to-macro coordination, allowing local initiatives to connect and scale effectively
• Design "slow social media" platforms that encourage reflection before reaction

Version 2 - Organizational Focus

Where I wish we were:

As a species, we are good at collective intelligence and collective action at many levels of scale.

Where we actually are:

We excel at organizing in small groups and can occasionally mobilize effectively at the national level, but we struggle with coordination at the global scale needed to address planetary challenges. Our institutions - from local governments to international bodies - often move too slowly and get mired in competing priorities. While we can rally impressively for acute crises, we have difficulty sustaining collective action for long-term systemic issues.

Practical ways we could get there:

• Create nested organizational structures that connect local, regional, and global decision-making
• Implement successful local governance models at larger scales through careful adaptation and testing
• Develop better metrics and feedback systems for institutional performance
• Build more effective bridges between grassroots movements and formal institutions
• Establish clear "success stories" repositories where organizations can learn from others' effective collective action
• Create incentive structures that reward long-term thinking and cross-organizational collaboration

Version 3 - Cognitive Focus

Where I wish we were:

As a species, we are good at collective intelligence and collective action at many levels of scale.

Where we actually are:

Our individual cognitive biases - from tribalism to short-term thinking - compound rather than cancel out at group scales. While we have remarkable potential for collective wisdom, we often default to lowest-common-denominator thinking in crowds. Our ability to share information has outpaced our ability to effectively filter, verify, and synthesize it into genuine collective intelligence.

Practical ways we could get there:

• Integrate cognitive bias training into standard education at all levels
• Develop and popularize better group decision-making processes that actively counter known biases
• Create information environments that make it easier to identify and verify credible sources
• Build tools that help groups identify and leverage diverse perspectives and expertise
• Implement "collective intelligence practices" in organizations, starting small and scaling up
• Design choice architectures that naturally guide groups toward more rational, long-term thinking

Version 4 - Evolutionary Focus

Where I wish we were:

As a species, we are good at collective intelligence and collective action at many levels of scale.

Where we actually are:

Our evolved social instincts, optimized for small hunter-gatherer bands, struggle to adapt to global civilization. We're wired for cooperation within groups of around 150 people but face constant friction when trying to scale beyond that. While we've developed cultural and technological tools to extend our collaborative abilities, our basic psychology remains better suited to tribal rather than planetary coordination.

Practical ways we could get there:

• Design organizations and communities that respect Dunbar's number ¹ while building bridges between groups
• Create rituals and practices that help people feel emotionally connected to the global community
• Develop better storytelling and narrative tools that make large-scale challenges feel personally relevant
• Build systems that make abstract global issues tangible and local
• Use gamification and other engagement techniques that tap into our evolved motivational systems
• Foster "nested identities" that allow people to maintain local connections while developing broader affiliations

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Notes:

(1) "Dunbar's number =~ 150" is a common trope (for good reasons); the reality is more complex, to dive into more some day. I'm leaving it as is for now.