It wasn’t difficult to see that the internet was going to change things forever, but what is surprising is the way it has actually brought people together. We have access to a ton of information at the click of a finger, as well as new connections to people from all over the world. What this has produced is an incredible wave of collective intelligence: people pooling their knowledge and power to make decisions, and even, change the world. But how?
Climate Change
One of the leading online platforms for connecting ideas on climate change is Climate CoLab. Instigated by websites like Wikipedia, Climate CoLab combines climate experts and people from around the world to share and join ideas on new solutions and approaches to environmental change. Featured in media channels such as the Boston Globe, Discovery, and the BBC, and recognized by the White House Climate Data, it is making leaps and bounds in real projects to change the world.
Petitions
Petitions are certainly not a new creation, and their beauty is in their simplicity. With email and social media, petitions are flourishing and having a real impact. Just look at the impact of petitions in the UK post-referendum. Spread across social media channels and approaching 4 million signatures, calls for a second referendum are hard to ignore. This is huge in terms of giving a voice to the people; simply signing and sharing can do a lot.
Research
Research towards curing diseases and changing the way we live need not be conducted in one place anymore. Pooling the intelligence and expertise of hundreds of thousands of scientists, Innocentive is an innovative crowdsourcing company constantly working towards new challenges in health, engineering, and life sciences. From challenges like tackling acne and empowering females, to stem cell research and heart disease treatment, Innocentive works with nearly half a million people across 200 countries
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding really is something that proves the level of collective input, and makes you feel good about humanity. Have an idea that could really take off? Try one of many crowdfunding sites like Indiegogo or Kickstarter, make your pitch, and hope that people across the world are invested in it. So far, there have been some really nifty inventions to come from crowdfunding: virtual reality headset Oculus Rift, Pebble – a watch that combines apps from your iPhone or Android, and even the Veronica Mars movie! Pretty amazing what we can do when we put our heads (and wallets) together!
Work and study
With all this new information, technology, and shared intelligence, this is bound to affect how we work and study, right? Workers have more access to almost anything they need, which brings with it an extension of freedom and flexibility in their work. The concept of going to an office every day is on the verge of changing, and conducting meetings in person is become rarer. All of this points towards more creativity and motivation in our work.
In our studies, too, we can harness the use of collective intelligence to fill in the gaps in thought processes, projects, and problem solving. InsightNG’s own Your Smartest Friend is a digital assistant which does just this. Your Smartest Friend is a unique assistant which finds insights specific to your situation that would otherwise be hard or impossible to find, giving you the ability to simplify, improve and even change your life.
- The only real way to acquire Wisdom - May 23
- Thoughts from the wild: are conversations at the heart of Cognitive Computing adoption? - May 9
- Conversational Intelligence – how to get better customer outcomes - November 16
- Intelligent machines now have knowledge that we’ll never understand - May 2
- AI viewed at its most practical level – working in partnership with humans - May 2
- Introduction to Cognitive Business and lowering the price of not knowing – Auckland 9th November 2016 - November 1
- 10 tips to prepare your brain for University or College - October 6
- My interview with Stock Market Insights site Seeking Alpha on the future of IBM - October 4
- What kind of learner are you? - August 22
- Is visual thinking just for studying? 4 ways it benefits your life - August 15