Towards Collective Superintelligence: Amplifying Group IQ using Conversational Swarms

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that Conversational Swarm Intelligence (CSI) significantly enhances group decision-making accuracy on IQ tests, suggesting a scalable pathway toward achieving collective superintelligence in large human networks.

Contribution

Introduces and empirically evaluates CSI as a novel method for amplifying group IQ through natural conversational deliberations, achieving substantial accuracy improvements.

Findings

CSI groups scored 80.5% on IQ tests, compared to 45.6% for baseline groups.

CSI groups reached the 97th percentile of IQ test-takers.

Effective IQ increased by 28 points with CSI.

Abstract

Swarm Intelligence (SI) is a natural phenomenon that enables biological groups to amplify their combined intellect by forming real-time systems. Artificial Swarm Intelligence (or Swarm AI) is a technology that enables networked human groups to amplify their combined intelligence by forming similar systems. In the past, swarm-based methods were constrained to narrowly defined tasks like probabilistic forecasting and multiple-choice decision making. A new technology called Conversational Swarm Intelligence (CSI) was developed in 2023 that amplifies the decision-making accuracy of networked human groups through natural conversational deliberations. The current study evaluated the ability of real-time groups using a CSI platform to take a common IQ test known as Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM). First, a baseline group of participants took the Raven's IQ test by traditional survey. This group averaged 45.6% correct. Then, groups of approximately 35 individuals answered IQ test questions together using a CSI platform called Thinkscape. These groups averaged 80.5% correct. This places the CSI groups in the 97th percentile of IQ test-takers and corresponds to an effective IQ increase of 28 points (p<0.001). This is an encouraging result and suggests that CSI is a powerful method for enabling conversational collective intelligence in large, networked groups. In addition, because CSI is scalable across groups of potentially any size, this technology may provide a viable pathway to building a Collective Superintelligence.