--- title: "Collective intelligence and KMS" subject: "Information System" chapter: 4 key: "semester_8/information_system:collective-intelligence-km" source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_8/information_system/collective-intelligence-km site: BCT Engineering --- # Collective intelligence and KMS Information System · Chapter 4: Decision support and Intelligent systems - Asked in: 2072 Asoj, 2+4 marks - Video: [What is Knowledge Management System (KMS)? Components of KMS - Examples of KMS - KMS Tools](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi3tYmo5dfI) — Management Tutorials - Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14 - Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_8/information_system/collective-intelligence-km - Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_8/information_system/chapter-4 ## Question Define Collective Intelligence. How does it help refinement of Knowledge Management System (KMS) of an organization? Explain with a suitable example. ## Short answer Collective intelligence emerges when many individuals collaborate, producing group outcomes smarter than any single member. It refines a KMS by enabling diverse knowledge contributions, continuous peer review and voting, which keeps content current, accurate and findable, as seen in an internal wiki where engineers post and rate solutions. ## Answer #### Collective intelligence **Collective Intelligence (CI)** is the shared or group intelligence that emerges when many individuals collaborate, compete or contribute their knowledge, so that the group's combined result is smarter than any single member. Examples: Wikipedia, Stack Overflow, Google search ranking, crowdsourcing. #### How it helps refine a Knowledge Management System 1. **More knowledge sources** - all employees, not only experts, add knowledge (tacit knowledge is made explicit). 2. **Continuous improvement** - content is reviewed, corrected, rated and updated by users (tagging, comments, voting). 3. **Better quality and relevance** - the best answers rise to the top through ratings. 4. **Faster problem solving** - questions are answered by colleagues across departments. 5. **Innovation** - ideas are pooled from many viewpoints (idea platforms). 6. **Uncovers expertise** - shows who knows what. 7. **Keeps knowledge current** as the business changes. #### Example A software company has an internal wiki and Q&A forum. Engineers post solutions to bugs, others edit and vote on the answers, and tags make them searchable. New staff find solutions quickly, and the KMS improves over time without a central editor. Similarly, a telecom helpdesk uses suggestions from its agents to refine its knowledge base of fixes. ## Check yourself The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why. 1. What is collective intelligence? A. Intelligence of the single smartest expert B. Group intelligence that emerges when many individuals collaborate, compete or contribute, so the result is smarter than any single member C. Artificial intelligence in a central server D. A database of employee records Answer: B. CI is shared group intelligence in which the combined result exceeds any individual's. (Key point: Definition) 2. How does CI add to a KMS compared with expert-only contribution? A. Only experts add knowledge B. All employees add knowledge, making tacit knowledge explicit C. Knowledge is removed from the system D. It eliminates the need for users Answer: B. CI lets all employees contribute, turning tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge. (Key point: More sources) 3. How does CI keep KMS content good? A. Content is fixed once and never changed B. A central editor alone reviews all content C. Users review, correct, rate, tag and vote so the best answers rise D. Content is chosen randomly Answer: C. Continuous review, ratings, comments and voting improve quality and relevance. (Key point: Quality improvement) 4. In the software company example, why does the KMS improve over time without a central editor? A. Engineers post solutions, others edit and vote answers, and tags make them searchable B. Management writes all answers C. Old answers are deleted daily D. Only new staff may post Answer: A. Peer posting, editing, voting and tagging in a wiki/Q&A forum refine the knowledge base continuously. (Key point: Example) ## Related in Information System - [Collective intelligence pros and cons](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Finformation_system%3Acollective-intelligence-pros-cons) — Information System, chapter 4 - [Meaning of collective intelligence](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Finformation_system%3Acollective-intelligence-meaning) — Information System, chapter 4 - [Knowledge management vs expert systems](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Finformation_system%3Akm-vs-expert-systems) — Information System, chapter 4 - [Knowledge management and KM triangle](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Finformation_system%3Aknowledge-management-hierarchy) — Information System, chapter 4 - [Enterprise management system and benefits](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Finformation_system%3Aems-with-example-benefits) — Information System, chapter 3 - [Data mining and business knowledge](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Finformation_system%3Adata-mining-business-knowledge) — Information System, chapter 4 ## Related in other subjects - [Harnessing collective intelligence in Web 2.0](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fweb_technology%3Acollective-intelligence-web2) — Web Technology, chapter 6 - [Knowledge acquisition in expert system](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_6%2Fartificial_intelligence%3Aknowledge-acquisition-es-architecture) — Artificial Intelligence, chapter 7, asked 2× - [Project management body of knowledge](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fict_project_management%3Adefine-pmbok) — ICT Project Management, chapter 2 - [Project management knowledge areas](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fict_project_management%3Apm-knowledge-areas) — ICT Project Management, chapter 2