A mathematical analysis of collective cognitive convergence

Multi-agent systems are an attractive approach to modeling systems of interacting entities, but in some cases mathematical models of these systems can offer complementary benefits. We report a case study of how the two modeling methods can profitably engage one another. The system we study [12] is an agent-based simulation of how groups of interacting entities can come to think alike. Though formal analysis of most of the models in that paper is intractable, a mean field analysis can be performed for the simplest case. On the one hand, while the formal analysis captures some of the basic features of that model, other features remain analytically elusive, reinforcing the benefits of agentbased over equation-based modeling. On the other hand, the mathematical analysis draws our attention to certain interesting features of the model that we might not have considered if we had not performed it. Responsible modeling of a domain should include both approaches. Categories and Subject Descrip...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2009
• Where: ATAL
• Authors: H. Van Dyke Parunak
• Keywords: Agent-based Simulation, Artificial Intelligence, ATAL 2009, Formal Analysis, Mean Field Analysis