英文collective intelligence，中文也有集体智能、群智（群体智能）等称，此术语中intelligence即为智力、智能、智能。（注意，有几个英文单词都有“群”的含义，目前大陆科技论文中，一般“群体智能”、“群智能”是指另外一个术语，其“群”字的英文原文是另一个词）

单一个体所做出的决策往往会比起多数决的决策来的不精准，集体智能（集体智能）是一种共享的或者群体的智能，以及集结众人的意见进而转化为决策的一种过程。它是从许多个体的合作与竞争中涌现出来的。集体智能在细菌、动物、人类以及计算机网络中形成，并以多种形式的协商一致的决策模式出现。

Collective intelligence is shared or group intelligence that emerges from the collaboration, collective efforts, and competition of many individuals and appears in consensus decision making. The term appears in sociobiology, political science and in context of mass peer review and crowdsourcing applications. It may involve consensus, social capital and formalisms such as voting systems, social media and other means of quantifying mass activity. Collective IQ is a measure of collective intelligence, although it is often used interchangeably with the term collective intelligence. Collective intelligence has also been attributed to bacteria and animals.