Can Crowds Think Smarter? [Swarm Intelligence]

Can Crowds Think Smarter

Humans are not the only living beings that make decisions together. Schools of fish, flocks of birds, and swarms of bees often respond quickly to danger, choose new locations, or find resources through coordinated group behaviour.

Biologists describe this process as swarm intelligence (SI). It allows many individuals to combine their knowledge and actions, often producing better decisions than any single member could make alone. This type of collective decision-making is especially useful when a group must respond quickly to complex or life-threatening situations.

In 2014, researchers developed artificial swarm intelligence (ASI). This technology enables connected groups of people to discuss, evaluate, and reach decisions through digital systems inspired by natural swarms.

A more advanced approach, known as conversational swarm intelligence (CSI), was introduced in 2023. It combines the principles of artificial swarm intelligence with large language models, allowing people to communicate, reason, and collaborate more effectively.

Overall, these technologies aim to improve group intelligence, human collaboration, real-time decision-making, and the quality of shared outcomes.

Conversational Swarms Improve Group Brainstorming

A recent study examined whether conversational swarm intelligence (CSI) could improve real-time brainstorming, idea selection, and group participation. Researchers tested a CSI platform called Thinkscape, which allows connected users to generate, discuss, and rank ideas together.

The study was conducted by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and Unanimous AI. It was published in the Proceedings of the 27th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems.

To compare different forms of online collaboration, the researchers used an alternative use task (AUT), a common creativity exercise in which participants suggest new uses for familiar objects. Two groups of 75 people joined 30-minute sessions. Each participant completed two 12-minute brainstorming activities: one through Thinkscape and the other in a traditional text-chat environment.

After both activities, participants completed a survey comparing their experiences. The results showed a clear preference for the CSI platform. Users described it as more collaborative, more productive, and more effective at generating high-quality ideas.

More than 80% of participants said they felt more heard during CSI discussions. They also reported a stronger sense of ownership, involvement, and support for the group’s final decisions than they experienced in standard online chat.

According to Ganesh Mani, Professor of Innovation Practice and Director of Collaborative AI at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business, the findings suggest that CSI could become a valuable generative AI tool for large-scale brainstorming and prioritisation.

Generative artificial intelligence uses machine learning and natural language processing to create new content, support communication, and assist with problem-solving. By combining these abilities with swarm-based decision systems, CSI may improve collective intelligence, group creativity, and collaborative decision-making.

The researchers noted that future studies should test the technology with much larger groups. Anita Williams Woolley, Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Carnegie Mellon University, suggested examining whether CSI can support hundreds or even thousands of people working together at the same time.

Overall, the study indicates that conversational swarm systems may offer a more inclusive and effective way to organise ideas, prioritise solutions, and help participants feel more involved in group outcomes.

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CSI Could Transform Collaboration in Large Organisations

The latest research builds on a 2024 study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Unanimous AI. In that earlier study, groups of 35 randomly selected participants worked together in real time to answer IQ test questions using the Thinkscape conversational swarm intelligence platform.

The results showed a major improvement in collective intelligence. Groups using Thinkscape achieved an average effective IQ of 128, placing them in the 97th percentile.

According to Louis Rosenberg, Chief Scientist at Unanimous AI, the earlier study showed that conversational swarm intelligence (CSI) could help large, connected groups make smarter decisions. The new research adds another important finding: participants also felt greater ownership, involvement, and support for the final outcomes.

Together, the two studies suggest that CSI could improve the way enterprise teams communicate, solve problems, and make decisions.

Christopher Dishop, a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business, explained that many large companies employ tens of thousands of people. A typical Fortune 1000 company, for example, has more than 30,000 employees.

CSI could allow these large workforces to join real-time discussions, brainstorming sessions, evaluations, debates, assessments, and prioritisation activities. It may also support project planning, risk assessment, forecasting, employee feedback, and organisational decision-making.

Most importantly, the technology could help ideas move more freely across departments, encouraging knowledge sharing, cross-functional collaboration, and the exchange of different perspectives throughout large organisations.

Overall, CSI may offer companies a powerful way to combine employee knowledge, improve group decisions, and involve more people in solving complex business problems.

Summary: Can Crowds Think Smarter? [Swarm Intelligence]

Swarm intelligence allows groups to combine their knowledge and make better decisions than individuals working alone.Conversational swarm intelligence (CSI) uses large language models to support real-time discussion, brainstorming, and prioritisation.Studies using the Thinkscape platform found that participants felt more heard, productive, and involved in final decisions.Earlier research also showed that CSI improved collective intelligence, with groups reaching an effective IQ of 128.The technology could help large organisations improve collaboration, planning, risk assessment, and problem-solving.