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The Atlas of Intelligences

We want to make cross-disciplinary research on the diversity of intelligences easier to navigate, by collecting and synthesising it in a single, accessible resource - an Atlas of Intelligences.

Intelligence is found in a wide range of organisms and systems. We see it in everything from humans to hagfish, bacteria to bee colonies, and magpies to machines. And many different types of intelligence are found in these organisms and systems: practical intelligence, collective intelligence, social intelligence, moral intelligence, emotional intelligence, and more.  

These diverse intelligences are studied by researchers from across disciplines, including psychology, neuroscience, biology, anthropology, philosophy and artificial intelligence. This cross-disciplinary approach promises to advance our understanding of the nature and varieties of cognition, by integrating insights, methods and results from many different perspectives. But it also faces a challenge: it can be difficult for individuals to stay informed about developments in all of these areas, to develop a shared understanding and to see how research from different disciplines fit together.

In this project, with funding from the Templeton World Charity Foundation, we aim to meet this challenge by making it easier to navigate research on diverse intelligences. Our goal is to create a resource collecting and synthesising research from across disciplines, in a way that’s accessible to all – an Atlas of Intelligences.

Our first step was to run a scoping study. We have surveyed potential Atlas users to find out more about the challenges they face in accessing intelligence research, and about what additional resources they’d value.

Results are reported on in the White Paper below which presents the results of a scoping study investigating the prospects for an ‘Atlas of Intelligences’ - a new resource which would make cross-disciplinary research on Diverse Intelligences easier to navigate

Atlas of Intelligences Report 

If you’re interested in the diversity of intelligences, watch this page for announcements or follow us on Twitter.  

Next project

Decision Theory and AI