International Journal of Swarm Intelligence and Evolutionary Computation

Abstract

The Emergence Paradigm: Swarm Intelligence as a Source of Inspiration for Novel AI Design

Ben Johansson

 Swarm Intelligence is not just a collection of algorithms but a source of inspiration for a new paradigm in Artificial Intelligence design. Emergence is the phenomenon where complex, high-level patterns arise from the interactions of simple, low-level components. This is a fundamental characteristic of swarm systems, where the collective behavior of a swarm is often far more sophisticated than the capabilities of any individual agent. Consider, for example, a flock of birds performing a complex aerial maneuver. Each bird follows simple rules, such as maintaining a certain distance from its neighbors and aligning its velocity with theirs. However, the flock as a whole exhibits a highly coordinated and intricate pattern that is not explicitly programmed into any individual bird.

Published Date: 2025-05-19; Received Date: 2025-04-18