The anthill model : how digital platform’s interpretation of collective intelligence undermines critical thinking and democratic education

The recent developments of digital technologies entail such deep and potentially disruptive socio-political implications that they deserve critical attention from the philosophy of education. The present article intends to face the broad issue of how digital technologies are contributing to transform the processes of knowledge production and circulation in contemporary societies, by analysing how the concept of collective intelligence is being reinterpreted in the sector of digital platforms. In particular, we are going to introduce the notion of “anthill model” to describe a peculiar interpretation of collective intelligence which currently appears to be the most common among digital platforms. The anthill model is based on the claim that algorithmic systems are potentially able to know people better than their friends and family, and even than themselves: such a conception tends to legitimise the tendency to delegate individual and collective decision to the algorithms. But this entails two deeply problematic implications for the philosophy of education, as it undermines both the promotion of critical thinking and the very foundations of democratic education. Indeed, from the point of view of the anthill model, the primary subjects of learning are no longer the human beings, but rather the algorithmic systems that exploit human data to elaborate a ‘superior’ collective intelligence. Confronting with such a perspective, we will conclude this article by proposing some considerations that revolve around the following question: is it possible to use digital technologies to design a collective intelligence which is not conceived as an anthill, but rather as a dialogic community?