Emergence of Cooperation and Systems Intelligence

Change of human systems for the better is often the result of cooperation. Many Systems Intelligent actions have the effect of uncovering the hidden potential for cooperation in a human context. An understanding of the nature and conditions for the emergence of cooperation therefore provides a useful background for the discipline of Systems Intelligence. Forms of cooperation can emerge in repeated interactions even between self-regarding parties with simple behavioural strategies, but both everyday experience and laboratory experiments indicate that humans have cooperative tendencies that cannot be explained with the model of material self-interest. A large portion of people seem to have intrinsic, non-material, social preferences that can be modelled as strong reciprocity. Interactions in heterogeneous groups with strong reciprocators and selfish individuals can result in systems with tipping points, where small changes of belief structures can lead to the actualization of hidden potential for cooperation. The heterogeneity has also important implications for the sustainability of collective action.