collective intelligence

USAGE SUMMARY

'collective intelligence' is a correct and usable expression in written English.
You can use it to refer to intelligence that is shared or pooled among a large group of people or other entities. For example, "In the age of digital technology, we are beginning to see the emergence of collective intelligence that is far greater than any single individual can possess."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

What does collective intelligence mean?

The New York Times

Does it "harness collective intelligence"?

The Economist

This is what some call "collective intelligence".

The New York Times

Collective intelligence relies on a certain degree of innocence.

The New Yorker

TimesOpen: I recently attended a research conference on Collective Intelligence.

The New York Times

It is run by collective intelligence, aka the cloud".

Independent

Does blogging reduce the collective intelligence of the human race?

The Guardian - Books

The collective intelligence and insight of the community is impressive".

The Guardian - Tech

Is collective intelligence the way of the future?

The New York Times

"It's the next evolution of collective intelligence on the Web.

The Guardian - Tech

Aggregating this collective intelligence doesn't always pay off.

The New York Times - Tech

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "collective intelligence" to highlight how groups, not just individuals, can solve problems and make decisions effectively.

Common error

Avoid assuming that every group exhibits "collective intelligence". Ensure the group has diverse perspectives and effective communication channels to avoid groupthink.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "collective intelligence" functions as a noun phrase, typically serving as the subject or object of a sentence. It refers to the shared or group intelligence that emerges from the collaboration and aggregation of individual contributions. Ludwig provides numerous examples demonstrating this usage.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

35%

Science

30%

Formal & Business

15%

Less common in

Academia

10%

Encyclopedias

5%

Reference

5%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The term "collective intelligence" is a grammatically sound and frequently used noun phrase that describes the enhanced intelligence arising from group collaboration. As Ludwig AI confirms, it effectively conveys the idea of shared intellectual capacity. Its usage spans diverse fields, notably news, science, and business, and is favored by authoritative sources such as The New York Times and The Guardian. When employing this term, it's crucial to define the group and its unique characteristics to ensure it possesses true diverse perspectives. Avoiding assumptions of universal group intelligence and guarding against groupthink are key for proper use.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

group intelligence

Emphasizes the intelligence arising from a group rather than individual contributions.

shared intellect

Highlights the shared aspect of intellectual capacity among a group.

wisdom of the crowd

Focuses on the aggregated wisdom derived from a large group's collective opinions.

collaborative intelligence

Underscores the collaborative nature of the intelligence being generated.

collective wisdom

Stresses the wisdom aspect of a group's combined knowledge and experience.

distributed cognition

Highlights the distribution of cognitive processes across a group or system.

emergent intelligence

Focuses on the intelligence that arises spontaneously from the interactions of a system's components.

swarm intelligence

Refers to the collective behavior of decentralized, self-organized systems.

networked intelligence

Highlights the intelligence arising from interconnected individuals or systems.

community intelligence

Emphasizes the intelligence and knowledge residing within a community.

FAQs

How can I use "collective intelligence" in a sentence?

You can use "collective intelligence" to describe how a group's combined knowledge and efforts lead to smarter outcomes, like: "The company leveraged the "collective intelligence" of its employees to develop innovative solutions."

What's the difference between "collective intelligence" and groupthink?

"Collective intelligence" emphasizes diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, while groupthink describes a situation where the desire for harmony overrides critical thinking and leads to poor decisions. A group can exhibit groupthink as much as it can exhibit "collective intelligence".

What are some examples of "collective intelligence" in action?

Examples of "collective intelligence" include open-source software development, where a community of developers collaborate to create and improve software, and prediction markets, where the aggregated forecasts of many individuals tend to be more accurate than those of individual experts.

Is "collective intelligence" always beneficial?

"Collective intelligence" can be powerful, but it's not always guaranteed to be beneficial. It depends on factors like diversity of opinions, effective communication, and the absence of biases. A poorly managed collective can lead to suboptimal results. Bonabeau (2009) highlighted factors that are crucial to understand if "collective intelligence" leads to better decisions.