We want to identify the mechanisms by which individual behaviors can promote the emergence of collective intelligence in human groups. We want to know how the information sharing between individuals can lead to efficient collective decisions (micro to macro), and to identify the specific situations where individuals behaviors and choices are affected by the group (macro to micro).
The importance for society is in determining if collective intelligence arise because of the intrinsic nature of individual behavioral rules, or because individuals are able to identify the information required to coordinate their actions and make efficient decisions, which factors contribute to a successful information process, and what are the effects of insufficient information, information overload, and bad quality information.
By combining insights and methods from diverse disciplines, we want to determine 1) the basic interactions between individuals and with their environment, in particular, the kind of information extracted and used from the environment and exchanged with other individuals, and the mechanisms of transmission and propagation of this information among individuals; 2) the effects of these interactions on individual choices and actions, 3) the resulting collective behavioral effects, and 4) the influence of group behavior on individual interactions.
The SMARTMASS project has successfully created a hub for interdisciplinary research, centered on addressing behavioral and economic problems with a methodology combining experiments and mathematical modeling. New ideas have been unlocked by associating experimental and theoretical tools of cognitive sciences, quantitative ethology, statistical physics, economics and game theory.
We have designed and executed specific experiments to investigate how human groups select alternative solutions to solve complex problems under different conditions of information. We have proposed different scenarios, derived mathematical models from experimental data, and studied these models by means of classical and novel tools.
Main conclusion:
Human groups are very effective in solving complex problems collectively. The accurate delivery (in quantity and quality) of local individual information definitively allows to enhance collective intelligence in human groups.
