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31.01.2021 Opinion

Collective Super Intelligence: A Strategy for a Successful Civilizational Transition

By Dr. Saeed Salari
Dr. Saeed SalariDr. Saeed Salari
31.01.2021 LISTEN

As we mentioned in the previous note on the need to build a proper picture of the civilizational future, here we want to address one of the strategies for a successful transition of civilization. We know that the transition to the desired civilizational state does not happen by itself, and a society that wants a successful transition needs to plan to achieve such a goal. In the civilizational transition, the present is the stage whose developments affect the future of civilization. A development whose outstanding effect is both in the civilizational quality and the time of reaching this quality. A society will be able to optimize its position in this transition by developing the knowledge and organization of Human energy in its society and orienting itself towards these two issues.

Today, with the very strong presence of cyberspace in human life, it seems that a very effective and powerful interest can be achieved for the development of cognition, organizing the energy of society and directing these matters for the successful civilizational transition. Paying attention to an area called collective super intelligence can be a huge breakthrough in these actions and this organization. Intelligence is the ability to acquire, process and apply knowledge. This intelligence can be measured both individually and collectively. Individual intelligence that is known but collective intelligence is close to the same interpretation of collective wisdom. In the same way, we can talk about the intelligence of a society and the intelligence of the people of a country. However, the emergence of these two types of intelligence depends on the power and breadth of collective wisdom in a society.

This means how much a society or country is able to use the intelligence of its members and involve each individual in its issues. The collective super intelligence that we have named seems to be able to provide such conditions for a society and a country. Collective super intelligence is a collective wisdom of the people of a society that is organized through cyberspace and with the help of the power of machine computing is able to develop cognition, energy management and orientation. In fact, cyberspace can be organized for a community or a nation to maximize their effectiveness. This can be applied and observed even in global issues, as we have seen to the extent that this data was collected and communicated in identifying and dealing with the coronavirus crisis.

But in relation to the problem of civilizational transition and moving towards a better standard of living, it should be known that paying attention to this collective super intelligence is also an emergency. Three of the most prominent issues regarding this urgency are: time, generation, and external disruptor. Everyone agrees that in the present age, developments have doubled in speed, and phenomena are emerging at a higher rate, and life is changing at a faster pace. Challenges emerge and change more rapidly in the same way. Hence, if a society cannot solve its problems quickly and proportionately, it will naturally face an accumulation of challenges, which is itself a major obstacle to the civilizational transition. This collective super intelligence will be able to find and solve the challenges much faster with the benefit of the great and collective wisdom of a nation and by organizing experts throughout a society in a short period of time and with the help of machine computing.

Another important category is generation. It is clear that the next generation will be more involved with computer space than the current generation, and as we see, cyberspace has dominated this generation since the beginning of life. This shows that the current generation of managers and elites have a duty to optimize this space for the next generation, while also reducing the distance between their generation and the next one in relation to this space. This reduction in the distance between two or more generations helps to avoid a generation gap. A gap that, as it grows, can make it difficult for two or more generations to understand each other's language.

An external disruptive factor is a rival or enemy of a land that, by its behavior, intentionally or unintentionally hinders the progress of a society. It should be noted that cyberspace has made the shortcomings and challenges of a society more obvious and also has made it easier to access the mind and attitude of a society. This disclosure and this access can lead to enabling a disruptive factor to take advantage of it and to control or direct a part of society's behavior. Hence, the serious and early entry of a society to organize it, which is in fact the organization of collective super intelligence, has a national urgency.

Ultimately, a modern society will be able to take advantage of these technological conditions to receive observations, reports, territorial and social challenges, and a wealth of experiences, analyzes, judgments, ideas, and solutions with greater accuracy and in a shorter time. And by prioritizing and valuing them, improve their situation in a shorter period of time. The important point in this regard will be the art of organizing this intelligence for a country. As mentioned, in order to protect against potential danger such as disruptive and rival agents, it is necessary for a society to create an indigenous and independent structure to organize this collective super intelligence.

*Ph.D. in Civilization Studies from Tehran University, Researcher in Future Studies of Civilization (DAA) ([email protected])

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