Emergence Is Not Always 'Good'
2009; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 11; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1532-7000
Autores Tópico(s)Complex Systems and Decision Making
ResumoThe concepts of emergence and collective intelligence are fascinating, and from their study might come good things. But neither is 'good' by definition and we ought to be careful not to let our enthusiasm and interest lead to us into speaking too casually about the benefits of 'encouraging emergence' or 'developing collective intelligence'. We can find ourselves battling the emergent properties of a system, and working against its collective intelligence. This article explores an example to illustrate this from the field of social care. It also discusses some tentative 'laws' and some issues resulting from the positive nature of popular perspectives on emergence. Introduction The ideas of emergence and collective intelligence seem to be inherently attractive ones. When we read about ants solving a problem, or people being wiser as a group, we think in positive terms. That Wikipedia can even exist, never mind that it can sometimes be the best source of information on a subject, is surprising and wonderful. The thought that collective intelligence might be useful in finding a way forward on global warming is something worthy of detailed study. From here it takes only one small step to a place where we are talking about how to encourage emergence and how to develop collective intelligence. We find ourselves thinking about these things as being inherently positive attributes of a system, particularly of a human one. Two of the four introductory paragraphs in Wikipedia's entry on collective intelligence (20 August 2008), to which I'm referring for obvious reasons, specifically present this positive slant (the other two are neutral). But to take this step is, I think, a huge mistake. The fact is that emergence and collective intelligence aren't 'good' by definition. If good things can emerge, so can bad; and intelligence can be put to beneficial or to detrimental use. This article explores these points in more detail, examining some specific examples, suggesting some general conclusions, and discussing the consequences that arise from it being popular to take a positive view of emergence. I'm aware that some readers might resent any implication that they didn't already know that emergence and collective intelligence can result in 'bad' as well as 'good' - so I should be clear that I'm not necessarily presenting new knowledge here. We've known about the awkward ways in which systems work for a long time. I'm simply reacting to the manner in which emergence and collective intelligence tend to be discussed. A Simple Example I find this much simplified example helpful as an introduction to this discussion. An advice centre is staffed by passionate specialist workers. They individually reply quickly and efficiently to telephone queries. If they can answer the query directly they do so, and if not they immediately say so and refer the matter quickly to their colleagues. They each care deeply about getting the right replies sent to people. We might expect that the emergent properties of this system - which is made up of passionate and efficient workers - would be positive. Unfortunately we all know that this isn't how emergence works. Putting a group of efficient and passionate people together doesn't necessarily create an organization which, in our dealings with it from outside, is efficient and passionate. When we look at our interaction with individual workers, we find we are dealt with efficiently and the worker's passion is clear. But we may also find that we are passed repeatedly around the system, that our query is never actually answered, and that it takes a long time for us to work out that the centre does not have the expertise we need. The property of being inefficient at replying to queries is an emergent one. It is one that arises at, and is best observed at, the organizational level. It's clearly not a 'good' property. A More Informative Example Amore in-depth example is required if we are to look at this properly - and I'll refer to the area of work in which I specialize, which is in supporting change within 'care' organizations. …
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