A System of Systems … With a Twist
In November 2024, there was rampant speculation, even fear, over the eventual emergence of artificial superintelligence (ASI). In his opening keynote at that year’s KMWorld conference, titled Collective Superintelligence: Humans in the Loop, Lewis Rosenberg of unanimous.ai flipped that notion, turning our attention to something even more powerful. Rather than having AI use humans as mere datapoints to be collected and aggregated, he showed how humans are actually more powerful as data processors. He asserted, “The most visible pathway to collective superintelligence [CSI] is to connect people together in real time and allow them to act, react, and interact using AI as the interstitial tissue that empowers us to solve problems together in optimal ways” (youtube.com/watch?v=YbU5YDo-Jis). The impact is real and measurable. Rosenberg’s research showed that collective CSI resulted in superior capability for predicting outcomes, from financial markets to major sporting events. Even more significantly, tests showed that applying CSI increased the collective IQ of a group by 28 points. (See “Towards Collective Superintelligence: Amplifying Group IQ Using Conversational Swarms”; arxiv. org/abs/2401.15109.)
Fast-forward to Today. Many long-standing technologies such as swarm intelligence, biomimicry, neural networks, and the like are now being stitched together. Think of what could happen if each of those technologies interacted not only with each other but also with the environment at large, its living and artificial elements, as an integrated whole. Welcome to the wild, wonderful world of cognitive ecosystems.
Building a New Type of Ecosystem, From the Ground Up
A cognitive ecosystem can best be defined as a collection of any number of dynamic, symbiotic networks where human, machine, and organizational intelligence work together to sense, anticipate, reason, act, learn, and adapt. Unlike systems that focus solely on automation or human decision making, cognitive ecosystems act upon all aspects of the collective intelligences within the system. No single component has all the answers or control. Rather, value is created through collaboration, adaptability, and shared sensemaking, just as Rosenberg demonstrated during his keynote address.
In a world facing climate shocks, pandemics, supply chain fragility, and social turbulence, systems that can continuously anticipate, adapt, and evolve are not optional, they are essential. Cognitive ecosystems achieve this level of performance by integrating continuous learning, distributed decision making, and real-time responsiveness across fluid boundaries encompassing people, technology, and organizations.
Cognitive ecosystems are best built from the ground up, from Internet of Things (IoT)-embedded devices on the edges to autonomous vehicles, digital twins, and smart cities. Semi-autonomous electric vehicles are one example of a joint human–AI cognitive system. As technology continues to evolve, a fully integrated intelligent personal transportation ecosystem will likely emerge that includes interactions and collaboration between humans and vehicles, vehicles and other vehicles, and vehicles and intelligent traffic management systems. The reach of these systems is already extending outward to include warnings regarding weather, crime, public health, and other types of hazards, including natural and man-made disasters. Expected outcomes include increased safety, efficiency, and savings.