In one of the themed discussion groups hosted by Made in Group, members discussed ‘demystifying AI.’
Members began by sharing their current uses of AI. The majority are familiar with ChatGPT, and some already use it for processes, blog content, and writing proposals. However, some members expressed concerns about security, leading to bans on employees accessing the technology.
Jason Pitt chaired the discussion group, focusing on how smarter computers can help create smarter organisations. He also shared insights into how people can enhance organisational intelligence without new technologies.
Jason said, “I'd like to tell you about some MIT research where they used the same statistical techniques employed to measure individual intelligence on IQ tests. This time, they used these techniques to measure the collective intelligence of groups. The research found that, similar to individuals, there's a single statistical factor for a group that predicts its performance across a wide range of tasks. This factor is called ‘collective intelligence,’ and it was only moderately correlated with the average individual intelligence of the group members.”
In other words, having a group of smart individuals doesn't necessarily result in a smart group. So, what makes a smart group? The research identified three significant factors correlated with collective intelligence. The first factor was the average social perceptiveness or social intelligence of the group members. This was measured by the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" test, where people guessed the emotions of others from pictures of their eyes. Groups with members who scored well on this test tended to be more collectively intelligent. The second factor was the equal participation of group members in conversations. Groups where participation was more balanced were more collectively intelligent.
Jason added that groups including more people and encouraging feedback from smart, introverted individuals would enhance collective intelligence. When one or two people dominated discussions, the group's collective intelligence tended to be lower than when everyone participated more equally. Finally, the research found a significant correlation between the group's collective intelligence and the proportion of women in the group. More women were correlated with higher collective intelligence, explained by women’s typically higher scores on social perceptiveness.
One of the most important lessons from this research is that at least two things are needed for smart groups or organisations. First, we need smart individuals—whether they are people, computers, or a combination—who have the abilities required for basic tasks. Second, these individuals need to work well together. For people, this means possessing interpersonal skills, which are crucial in an electronically connected world. For computers, this means designing them to work well with people, a critical factor for creating more intelligent organisations.
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