Who, Exactly, Am “I”?
Distributed Intelligence and Consciousness, Now and In Our Future
I like to think of myself as reasonably intelligent. Probably you do, too. But where, exactly, does your intelligence reside? The easy, obvious answer is the brain. For most of the last couple hundred years at least, the human brain seemed unique in its ability to process information. But things are not so simple….
Levels of Organization and Information Processing in the Human Body
Let’s dive down into a human body and look at different levels of organization where information seems to be processed. A human has, among other things:
- A brain, which we think is the unique home of our intelligence, of the “self”;
- Other nerves in our CNS, including in the gut;
- Intra- and inter-cellular signalling mechanisms throughout the body.
And each individual human self contains quite the menagerie of current and former critters from other species, including:
- symbiotic gut bacteria, which we apparently need for good health;
- Mitochondria (once a separate organism — purple, non-sulphur bacteria, captured captured as endosymbionts in eukaryotic cells 1.45B years ago and now serving as organelles within our own cells) that we need for energy;
- Endogenous retroviruses in our DNA!
Clearly, there is a lot of activity, and a lot of complex information processing, going on within each of us and over which we typically have no conscious knowledge or control. A physician can “communicate” effectively with the intelligence embedded in your immune system when she gives you a vaccine or antibiotic — effectively bypassing your conscious brain entirely. We are, each of us, a highly distributed information processing system; a collective.
Extending Our Brains Through Culture and Technology
Now let’s zoom up in scale, rather than down. “No man is an island”, as John Donne preached. Nearly every human is part of a family, a community, a society. For each of us, the content of our individual consciousness is extended by:
- other people (tribes, teams, companies, political states);
- books that we read and write, and videos, movies, podcasts;
- the internet and social media — for better and worse.
And now there’s AI! When I work closely with ChatGPT to draft a business agreement or code an exploratory data analysis workflow in Python, who exactly is doing the work, the inventing? Just me? Me and the LLM? Me and the people who built and trained the LLM? Me and the millions of creators of the documents and computer programs on which the LLM was trained? (The answer isn’t clear — which is why there is much wrangling over issues of patents and copyrights when it comes to LLMs and other AI systems).
I’ve written before about our own species’ technological roadmap towards a “hive mind” of sorts. I still find this vision from 2010 — of the long-term convergence of information connectivity, social connectivity, and artificial and human intelligence — to be very compelling:
But what about today’s world? Do we exhibit “hive intelligence” in any capacity or form? Does a corporation have a collective “mind”, a “personality”? A popular cult documentary film from Canada in 2003 argued that corporations do, in fact, act like people in some ways; specifically, like psychopathic people:
What about a nation? An army on the march with effective C³I? A squad of Marines? Do people in a raging mob really dissolve their individual wills as they ransack a city core or attack rival team fans in a soccer stadium? What kind of information processing is a mob doing? What is its goal? What about a stock market — does it have a goal, a sense of itself?
At what point does alignment and coordination among individual minds cross a threshold and become a single, unified mind?
These are profound questions, the answers to which might be illuminated by looking at other organisms, through the lenses of science fact and science fiction.
Hive Minds in Nature — Science Fact…
As we contemplate the distributed nature of intelligence and consciousness, we can look to nature for some remarkable examples of collective decision-making and coordination. In the insect world, particularly among bees, ants, and termites, we find stunning examples of hive minds.
Bees: The intricate social structure of a bee colony is a testament to the power of collective intelligence. In a beehive, thousands of individual bees work together harmoniously, each with a specific role. The queen bee, for instance, lays eggs, while worker bees tend to the hive, gather nectar, and defend against threats. When it comes to making vital decisions, such as finding a new nesting site, bees engage in a process known as “swarming.” A scout bee discovers a potential location, and when it returns to the hive, it communicates its findings through complex dance patterns. Other bees interpret these dances, share their own discoveries, and a consensus gradually emerges. It’s a sophisticated form of democratic decision-making that ensures the survival and thriving of the colony as a whole.
Ants and Termites: Ant colonies and termite mounds are engineering marvels of cooperation and collective cognition. These insects build elaborate nests, tunnel systems, and forage for food with remarkable efficiency. Ants, in particular, exhibit decentralized problem-solving. When faced with an obstacle, a lone ant may struggle to overcome it, but the collective effort of many ants working together often leads to a solution. Moreover, ants are known to use pheromone trails to communicate, enabling them to coordinate foraging and defense. Termite mounds are climate-controlled structures constructed with a collective intelligence that ensures temperature and humidity are maintained within a narrow range.
Schooling of Fish: Beneath the surface of the ocean, fish schools move in unison, creating mesmerizing patterns that seem choreographed by a collective consciousness. While fish may not possess the cognitive depth of humans, their schooling behavior is a prime example of emergent intelligence. Each fish maintains a set distance and orientation to its neighbors, creating a collective movement that confuses predators and aids in finding food. When one fish changes direction, it influences the movement of its neighbors, resulting in the rapid propagation of information through the school.
These examples from the natural world reveal that complex decision-making and coordinated behavior can emerge from simple individual rules and interactions. While we wouldn’t attribute human-like consciousness to these creatures, they showcase the power of collective intelligence and hint at the broader questions surrounding distributed consciousness that extend beyond the human realm. As we delve deeper into the exploration of hive minds in nature, we might find valuable insights into the nature of information processing, decision-making, and the emergence of consciousness in interconnected systems.
…And In Science Fiction
The “Invasion” Aliens: In the Apple TV series “Invasion,” we are introduced to a mysterious alien species with a hive mind-like collective intelligence. These extraterrestrial beings arrive on Earth with a hidden agenda and the ability to take control of human hosts, effectively forming a collective consciousness. The show explores the complexity of this alien hive mind and its interactions with the human characters, raising questions about the nature of identity, free will, and the moral implications of a species that acts as a single entity.
“Bees” in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s “Dogs of War”: Adrian Tchaikovsky’s novel “Dogs of War” introduces us to genetically engineered bioforms, including the character known as “Bees.” These bio-engineered creatures form a collective intelligence, acting as a single swarm-like entity through shared knowledge and coordination. Through an AI-driven interface, Bees is even able to “speak” with military squad mates including a human commander and a sentient genetically engineered bear. Bees and Bear in these novels showcase the potential of bioengineering and hive minds, serving as tools of war and raising ethical questions about the use and treatment of such sentient beings.
The Borg in Star Trek: No discussion of hive minds in science fiction would be complete without mentioning the Borg from the Star Trek universe. The Borg are a cybernetic species with a collective consciousness known as the “Borg Collective.” Comprising thousands of interconnected drones, each with a specialized function, the Borg operate as a single, highly efficient entity. They assimilate other species and technologies into their collective, seeking perfection through the acquisition of knowledge and technology. The Borg embody the fears and ethical dilemmas associated with hive minds, as they strip individuals of their autonomy and identity, assimilating them into the hive.
These examples from science fiction demonstrate the diverse ways in which hive minds and collective intelligence have been imagined. They serve as a rich source of inspiration for exploring the implications of interconnected cognition, the blurring of individuality, and the potential for both cooperation and conflict in fictional worlds. The concept of hive minds in science fiction pushes the boundaries of what is possible and invites us to contemplate the consequences of such collective intelligences on the characters and societies they encounter.
Current Research in Distributed Artificial Intelligence (DAI)
The field of Distributed Artificial Intelligence (DAI) is experiencing a renaissance in the modern era. Researchers are exploring innovative approaches to decentralized and collective problem-solving in AI systems, which not only hold the promise of practical applications but also offer intriguing insights into the nature of distributed intelligence and consciousness.
One prominent area of research is in the development of Multi-Agent Systems (MAS). MAS focuses on creating systems comprising multiple intelligent agents that can work together to solve complex problems. Respected researchers like Michael Wooldridge and Nick Jennings have contributed significantly to this field. Their work on agent-based modeling and decentralized decision-making has practical applications in robotics, supply chain management, and more.
In addition, ongoing studies in DAI are shedding light on the potential for distributed AI to mimic natural systems and their collective intelligence. For example, researchers at institutions like the Santa Fe Institute are examining how swarm intelligence principles can be applied to AI systems, drawing inspiration from the behaviors of natural entities such as ants and birds. These studies offer a glimpse into how distributed AI can be used to optimize traffic flow, manage resources, and tackle complex optimization problems.
A Harvard group in 2014 demonstrated the potential for swarms of small, simple robots to self-assemble and perform tasks.
Furthermore, in the pursuit of practical AI solutions, the development of decentralized AI models like OpenAI’s GPT-3 and GPT-4 has made waves in the AI community. These models leverage the power of distributed computing to achieve astonishing language understanding and generation capabilities. Researchers at OpenAI, led by Ilya Sutskever and Sam Altman, have pioneered this domain, pushing the boundaries of what AI can achieve.
As researchers continue to advance the frontiers of DAI, they not only seek practical AI solutions but also engage in philosophical discussions about the implications for the broader questions of distributed intelligence and consciousness. How far can decentralized AI systems go in replicating or exceeding human intelligence? What ethical and moral considerations arise when we deal with autonomous, distributed AI decision-making systems? These questions are central to ongoing investigations, as the scientific community endeavors to understand the full extent of what distributed AI can offer in both practical and theoretical realms.
Towards Panpsychism: We Are Not Alone in Being “Smart”
In closing, the exploration of distributed intelligence and consciousness, from the collective behaviors of bees, ants, and schooling fish in the natural world to the emergence of hive minds in science fiction and cutting-edge research in Distributed Artificial Intelligence (DAI), paints a profound picture. These multidisciplinary inquiries challenge the long-held solipsistic notion that human brains are the sole harbors of intelligent information processing. Indeed, across various dimensions of existence, we encounter intricate forms of collective cognition, communication, and decision-making. Whether it’s the intricate dance of a bee swarm, the interconnected consciousness of alien hive minds in science fiction, or the distributed AI systems shaping our digital landscape, these frontiers underscore a fundamental shift in our understanding. The boundaries of distributed intelligence are expanding, and the once-unquestioned supremacy of human cognition is being challenged and overturned on several fronts. As we navigate this new landscape, we are poised to unveil deeper insights into the nature of intelligence, consciousness, and interconnectedness in a rapidly evolving world.
Peering into this distributed, intelligent technological landscape of the future, one wonders if we haven’t in some sense come full circle. Ancient mystics and philosophers pondered the possibilities of a universe filled with Mind, brimming with intelligence. Brilliant quantum physicists like Schrodinger and Heisenberg hinted at panpsychist underpinnings to our observable world. Cognitive neuroscientist Cristof Koch has provided at least an initial formal theory (Integrated Information Theory — IIT) and a quantitative way to measure the emergent “intelligence” of a biological, physical or computational system.
Will our children or grandchildren live in a world “alive” with ubiquitous embedded intelligence? What opportunities does this vision provide for improving the human condition? What risks does it pose and how can we mitigate those risks?
