Beyond collective intelligence: Collective adaptation

Area of Science:

• Socio-cognitive systems
• Complex systems science
• Transdisciplinary social science

Background:

• Collective behavior in complex systems is not always optimal.
• Existing research often focuses on 'intelligent' collectives, overlooking failures.
• Understanding societal adaptation is crucial for navigating complex challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a conceptual framework for studying collective adaptation.
• To integrate interdisciplinary research on social dynamics and problem-solving.
• To outline modeling approaches for analyzing collective behavior and societal trajectories.

Main Methods:

• Developing a conceptual framework integrating social integration, environments, and problem structures.
• Reviewing and integrating research from diverse disciplines.
• Outlining quantitative and modeling approaches for analysis.

Main Results:

• Identified key factors influencing collective adaptation: social integration strategies, environments, and problem structures.
• Highlighted the importance of path dependence, lack of optimization, and collective myopia.
• Provided a framework to explain counterintuitive collective outcomes.

Conclusions:

• A transdisciplinary, quantitative social science is needed to understand complex societies.
• The framework aids in anticipating and potentially altering harmful societal trajectories.
• Understanding collective adaptation is key to avoiding disasters and realizing organizational potential.