Organizational Consciousness Versus Artificial Consciousness

Abstract

What is the capacity of an informal network of organizations to produce answers in response to complex tasks requiring the integration of masses of information designed as a high-level cognitive and collective activity? Are some network configurations more favourable than others to accomplish these tasks? We present a method to make these assessments, inspired by the Information Integration Theory issued from the modelling of consciousness. First we evaluate the informational network created by the sharing of information between organizations for the realization of a given task. Then we assess the natural network ability to integrate information, a capacity determined by the partition of its members whose information links are less efficient. We illustrate the method by the analysis of various functional integrations of Southeast Asian organizations, creating a spontaneous network participating in the study and management of interactions between health and environment. Several guidelines are then proposed to continue the development of this fruitful analogy between artificial and organizational consciousness (refraining ourselves from assuming that one or the other exists).