Tribes: The Best Tool For Solving Problems Through A Supermind

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Most of you are aware that @aggroed announced, earlier this week, the intention to create "Tribes" on Steem. This is going to be a "communities" feature that was long discussed around here. The core of the Tribe is the website which will give all community members a place to meet up. On that platform, people will have the ability to create content using a variety of different media. There will be video posting, streaming, blogging, and a forum, all under one umbrella.

Tribes is an important concept from an intelligence perspective. We know that mobs tend to drift towards the lowest common denominator. Hence why mobs basically act like idiots. A prime example is after a team wins the Super Bowl, fans go crazy. They end up torching things and behaving in ways they normally would not.

That said, tribes are vital for solving problems. We each have an individual intelligence. There are things we can do obviously to improve upon that yet, it is impossible for one person to know everything.

By the same token, groups (communities) also have an intelligence. This is different from the individual yet equally as important. Collective intelligence is what enables advancement from an evolutionary perspective. While we like to esteem the greats for their vision and insight, few developed anything on their own. Steve Jobs is not solely responsible for the IPhone. It was not his intelligence that created it. Rather, it was the collective intelligence known as Apple.

Many fear Artificial Intelligence, something I feel is misplaced. To start, that term, like most other words, can mean different things depending upon the person. If we mean "machine" intelligence, one of the many definitions, then we can see how applicable it can be.

The main reason that AI is not something to fear is because what is presented in Hollywood is not even close to reality. There are no Terminators or C3POs out there. Machine intelligence is very good in specialized areas. Alpha Go can beat the best human players in the world yet is not programmed to play Tic-Tac-Toe. Thus, for all its "intelligence" it cannot beat a 5 year old at this.

The idea of AGI is probably decades away...many decades away. That said, the idea of many ASI networks forming and providing a collective Artificial Intelligence is possible. In fact, we are already starting to see this. Each year, our use of AI, most often without knowing, is increasing. We are utilizing many different programs designed for specific purposes.

What does this all mean for Tribes? The idea of humans and computers working together on problems is the most likely path for the next decade or two. Computers are going to present the benefits where humans are weak, i.e. data recall, while humans will offer the general knowledge that computers lack.

Together, this will form a "Supermind" with which to address particular issues. "Tribes" can provide a place for all who are interested in a particular subject to get together.

One thing we saw over the last 30 years, information technology sped up the ability to communicate. This is vital in our evolution on this planet. With another 3+ billion people set to join the online world, we are going to have 7B minds connected. Coupling this with algorithms designed to work on particular issues, we can see rapid advancement towards solutions that are presently outside our grasp.

Over the next decade, as collaboration becomes easier, we are going to see interested parties established all over the place. Steem is already a form of a Supermind with thousands of people on here with different experiences and ideas. "Tribes" will break that down further centering upon different areas of interest. While many communities with be set up with the intention of just having some fun, there will be many which focus upon a specific topic that is crucial to people. This is where the change will come in.

We are already seeing the power that is available when ideas flow freely among groups of people. The idea of open collaboration lifts us all to a higher level. Businesses used this approach of collective intelligence to propel them to the top of their market. It is also what keeps them there decade after decade. VW and GM are still two of the biggest automobile manufactures in the world, something that was true for more than half a century. No person working at either of those companies was there in the 1950s.

Placing ideas in front of people, while maybe not experts, but passionate about something in an open forum which allows for greater collaboration is very powerful. This is something that I think we can tap into. The ability for sound solutions to come from this kind of mechanism is proven and dependable. Over the course of a few months, as more people are exposed to the information, more ideas are generated.

I believe Steem can be a place to offer that and provide the abundance to all.

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