Big Mind: How Collective Intelligence Can Change Our World

by Geoff Mulgan

Overview

How collective intelligence can transform business, government, and our everyday lives

A new field of collective intelligence has emerged in recent years, prompted by digital technologies that make it possible to think at large scale. This "bigger mind"—human and machine capabilities working together—could potentially solve the great challenges of our time. Gathering insights from the latest work on data, web platforms, and artificial intelligence, Big Mind reveals how the power of collective intelligence could help organizations and societies to survive and thrive.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691196169
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	11/12/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Geoff Mulgan is professor of collective intelligence, public policy, and social innovation at University College London, and a senior visiting scholar at Harvard University’s Ash Center. He was the founder of the think tank Demos and director of the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit and head of policy under Tony Blair. His books include The Locust and the Bee and Good and Bad Power.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Introduction Collective Intelligence as a Grand Challenge 1

Part I

What Is Collective Intelligence? 9

1 The Paradox of a Smart World 11

2 The Nature of Collective Intelligence in Theory and Practice 14

Part II Making Sense of Collective Intelligence as Choice 33

3 The Functional Elements of Collective Intelligence 35

4 The Infrastructures That Support Collective Intelligence 48

5 The Organizing Principles of Collective Intelligence 60

6 Learning Loops 70

7 Cognitive Economics and Triggered Hierarchies 76

8 The Autonomy of Intelligence 90

9 The Collective in Collective Intelligence 99

10 Self-Suspicion and Fighting the Enemies of Collective Intelligence 119

Part III Collective Intelligence in Everyday Life 129

11 Mind-Enhancing Meetings and Environments 131

12 Problem Solving: How Cities and Governments Think 145

13 Visible and Invisible Hands: Economies and Firms as Collective Intelligence 161

14 The University as Collective Intelligence 174

15 Democratic Assembly 181

16 How Does a Society Think and Create as a System? 193

17 The Rise of Knowledge Commons: It’s for Everyone 200

Part IV Collective Intelligence as Expanded Possibility 215

18 Collective Wisdom and Progress in Consciousness 217

Afterword: The Past and Future of Collective

Intelligence as a Discipline 229

Summary of the Argument 237

Notes 239

Index 263

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This important work provides a sophisticated analysis of the various human and computational forms of collective intelligence. Mulgan demonstrates in a powerful way how such collective intelligence can be mobilized to deal effectively and wisely with the most urgent problems on the planet."—Howard Gardner, author of Multiple Intelligences

"In Big Mind, Mulgan nails it yet again. How collective intelligence can stay ahead of artificial intelligence is the big question of the day and Mulgan has answers. This is a smart, lucid, and compelling book."—Julia Hobsbawm, author of Fully Connected

"This insightful and broad-ranging book will appeal to business leaders at all levels, from tech giants to start-ups."—Martha Lane Fox, executive chair of Doteveryone

"Mulgan combines distinguished academic expertise with extensive real-world policy experience. In this important, wide-ranging book, he shows how decision making can be hugely improved in our increasingly networked world. To those of us dismayed by how ineffectually democracy now operates, Big Mind offers a dose of optimism and many concrete proposals. It's enlightening—indeed inspiring—and should be read by all citizens, especially those aspiring to improve all levels of governance."—Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal and former president of the Royal Society

"Big Mind is a book the world needs. At a time of intense pessimism about our capacity to reimagine society's systems, and amid rising populism, Mulgan offers a balanced and highly sophisticated approach to revamping democracy and our institutions. Rather than providing technocratic solutions, he lays out intelligent ways to more deeply involve individuals. Through smartly designed systems that structure for participation, a better world is possible—Mulgan’s magnificent book shows us how."—Jeremy Heimans, cofounder of Purpose, GetUp!, and Avaaz

"This book presents a novel way of seeing the world that places collective intelligence center stage. It assesses the practice and evidence on how we might achieve more intelligent institutions and systems, by making the most use of emerging technologies, and by applying more systematic methods to amplifying intelligence in everyday tools for shaping and making decisions."—Stefaan G. Verhulst, GovLab, New York University

"Big Mind brims with pragmatic, unexpected insights. Mulgan filters his awe-inspiring breadth of academic knowledge through the lens of decades of practical experience."—Scott Page, University of Michigan

Editorial Reviews

One of The Guardian’s Favourite Reads of 2017 as chosen by scientists

From the Publisher

"A perfect introduction to collective intelligence. . . . The book draws on subjects such as social psychology, computer sciences and economics, as well as the author’s experiences as co-founder of the think tank Demos."

Arab News

"Brilliant. . . . Drawing on such disciplines as social psychology, computer science, and economics, as well as his experiences as a co-founder of the think tank Demos, Mulgan outlines the elements of CI, which has informed collaborations from the Manhattan project and NASA's moon landings to Google Maps and Wikipedia."

Kirkus Reviews

"An engaging and important read."

Paradigm Explorer