Seminar Series: Collective Behaviour and Intelligence Reading Session: Emergence of group cognition

The goal of this seminar series is to explore the phenomena of collective behaviour and intelligence, the mechanisms underlying them and their consequences through reading and discussion of classic and current literature.

These phenomena are of interest to a wide variety of disciplines and include many different systems at various scales of organisation. To cast a wide net and engage participants from different disciplines, we will review theoretical, modelling and empirical studies on various systems, using animal collective behaviour as a point of departure but also exploring human societies and their collective dynamics, as well as other systems where collective behaviour can be found. We will also include some hands-on experience with simple simulations of collective behaviour.

The seminars take place every two weeks, starting in September 2024, with the possibility of extending the series into the next semester. Sessions could include a combination of lectures, hands-on work on simulations using Netlogo and discussions of pre-selected readings, coordinated by the various participants. The seminars are free of charge and all are welcome.

Group discussion of:

Theiner, G., Allen, C., & Goldstone, R. L. (2010). Recognizing group cognition. Cognitive Systems Research, 11(4), 378-395

And reaction papers:

Ludwig, K. (2015). Is distributed cognition group level cognition? Journal of Social Ontology, 1(2), 189-224

Palermos, S. O. (2016). The dynamics of group cognition. Minds and Machines, 26(4), 409-440

All are welcome but please ensure that you have read, at the very least, the first listed text to allow for a productive discussion.