Benefits of Distributed Intelligence

Speaker:
Ana Sendova-Franks

Abstract:
The evaluation of intelligence on the basis of performance outcomes rather than anthropocentric criteria will help our understanding of the phenomenon in general and our own intelligence in particular. For example, notwithstanding our human ability to think, reason and analyse we still struggle with complex dynamic systems while insect societies solve variable dynamic problems adaptively every day of their lives. I will illustrate some of the benefits of distributed intelligence with examples from ants, such as brood sorting, building and social-level learning. Finally, I will discuss how distributed intelligence relates to individual cognition and intelligence.