Modeling self-sustained activity cascades in socio-technical networks

The ability to understand and eventually predict the emergence of information and activation cascades in social networks is core to complex socio-technical systems research. However, the complexity of social interactions makes this a challenging enterprise. Previous works on cascade models assume that the emergence of this collective phenomenon is related to the activity observed in the local neighborhood of individuals, but do not consider what determines the willingness to spread information in a time-varying process. Here we present a mechanistic model that accounts for the temporal evolution of the individual state in a simplified setup. We model the activity of the individuals as a complex network of interacting integrate-and-fire oscillators. The model reproduces the statistical characteristics of the cascades in real systems, and provides a framework to study time-evolution of cascades in a state-dependent activity scenario.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Diffusion geometry unravels the emergence of functional clusters in collective phenomena

Collective phenomena emerge from the interaction of natural or artificial units with a complex organization. The interplay between structural patterns and dynamics might induce functional clusters that, in general, are different from topological ones. In biological systems, like the human brain, the overall functionality is often favored by the interplay between connectivity and synchronization dynamics, with functional clusters that do not coincide with anatomical modules in most cases. In social, socio-technical and engineering systems, the quest for consensus favors the emergence of clusters. Despite the unquestionable evidence for mesoscale organization of many complex systems and the heterogeneity of their inter-connectivity, a way to predict and identify the emergence of functional modules in collective phenomena continues to elude us. Here, we propose an approach based on random walk dynamics to define the diffusion distance between any pair of units in a networked system. Such a metric allows to exploit the underlying diffusion geometry to provide a unifying framework for the intimate relationship between metastable synchronization, consensus and random search dynamics in complex networks, pinpointing the functional mesoscale organization of synthetic and biological systems.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

Geometric signature of complex synchronisation scenarios

Synchronisation between coupled oscillatory systems is a common phenomenon in many natural as well as technical systems. Varying the strength of coupling often leads to qualitative changes in the complex dynamics of the mutually coupled systems including different types of synchronisation such as phase, lag, generalised, or even complete synchronisation. Here, we study the geometric signatures of coupling along with the onset of generalised synchronisation between two coupled chaotic oscillators by mapping the systems' individual as well as joint recurrences in phase space to a complex network. For a paradigmatic continuous-time model system, the transitivity properties of the resulting joint recurrence networks display distinct variations associated with changes in the structural similarity between different parts of the considered trajectories. They therefore provide a useful indicator for the emergence of generalised synchronisation. This paper is dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the introduction of recurrence plots by Eckmann et al. (Europhys. Lett. 4 (1987), 973).Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Consciousness as a State of Matter

We examine the hypothesis that consciousness can be understood as a state of matter, "perceptronium", with distinctive information processing abilities. We explore five basic principles that may distinguish conscious matter from other physical systems such as solids, liquids and gases: the information, integration, independence, dynamics and utility principles. If such principles can identify conscious entities, then they can help solve the quantum factorization problem: why do conscious observers like us perceive the particular Hilbert space factorization corresponding to classical space (rather than Fourier space, say), and more generally, why do we perceive the world around us as a dynamic hierarchy of objects that are strongly integrated and relatively independent? Tensor factorization of matrices is found to play a central role, and our technical results include a theorem about Hamiltonian separability (defined using Hilbert-Schmidt superoperators) being maximized in the energy eigenbasis. Our approach generalizes Giulio Tononi's integrated information framework for neural-network-based consciousness to arbitrary quantum systems, and we find interesting links to error-correcting codes, condensed matter criticality, and the Quantum Darwinism program, as well as an interesting connection between the emergence of consciousness and the emergence of time.Comment: Replaced to match accepted CSF version; discussion improved, typos corrected. 36 pages, 15 fig

Online Popularity and Topical Interests through the Lens of Instagram

Online socio-technical systems can be studied as proxy of the real world to investigate human behavior and social interactions at scale. Here we focus on Instagram, a media-sharing online platform whose popularity has been rising up to gathering hundred millions users. Instagram exhibits a mixture of features including social structure, social tagging and media sharing. The network of social interactions among users models various dynamics including follower/followee relations and users' communication by means of posts/comments. Users can upload and tag media such as photos and pictures, and they can "like" and comment each piece of information on the platform. In this work we investigate three major aspects on our Instagram dataset: (i) the structural characteristics of its network of heterogeneous interactions, to unveil the emergence of self organization and topically-induced community structure; (ii) the dynamics of content production and consumption, to understand how global trends and popular users emerge; (iii) the behavior of users labeling media with tags, to determine how they devote their attention and to explore the variety of their topical interests. Our analysis provides clues to understand human behavior dynamics on socio-technical systems, specifically users and content popularity, the mechanisms of users' interactions in online environments and how collective trends emerge from individuals' topical interests.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, Proceedings of ACM Hypertext 201

Emergence of Essential Patents in Technical Standards: Implications of the Continuation and Divisional Application Systems and the Written Description Requirement

The present paper looks into the intersection between technical standard development activities and patenting activities from the perspective of patent prosecution. Specifically, attention is paid to the tendency that the obtainment of patents related to technical standards is often done through the utilization of the systems allowing patent applicants to file new applications (collectively called continuing applications under the US patent system) enjoying the benefit of the filing dates of earlier-filed patent applications. After presenting some empirical evidence to show the tendency (in other words, the relevance of the continuing application system to patenting technical standards), this paper focuses upon the written description requirement as an important factor affecting the patentability of such continuing applications. In this paper, I make concrete proposals for the enhancement of the capacity of the written description requirement to suppress the abusive use of the continuing application system to cover technical standards as well as competitors' products and processes, without prejudice to innovative inventors' opportunities to mine their original disclosure in patent specifications for the exclusive rights they deserve. These proposals of mine include the reduction of burden of proof, to the patent challenger's side, of incompliance of a claim in a continuing application with the written description requirement, when certain conditions are met, and some examples of ways to achieve such reduction of burden of proof. This paper also presents comparative review of the continuing application systems under the European and Japanese patent systems as well as the US patent system. Based upon the review, relevant international harmonization considerations are discussed as well.patent, prosecution, technical standards, continuing application, continuation, division, CIP, priority right, earlier filing date, written description requirement, support, implicit and inherent disclosure, burden of proof, burden of production, prima-facie evidence, functional claim, omission of an element, international harmonization

Deep transitions: emergence, acceleration, stabilization and directionality

Industrial society has not only led to high levels of wealth and welfare in the Western world, but also to increasing global ecological degradation and social inequality. The socio-technical systems that underlay contemporary societies have substantially contributed to these outcomes. This paper proposes that these socio-technical systems are an expression of a limited number of meta-rules that, for the past 250 years, have driven innovation and hence system evolution in a particular direction, thereby constituting the First Deep Transition. Meeting the cumulative social and ecological consequences of the overall direction of the First Deep Transition would require a radical change, not only in socio-technical systems but also in the meta-rules driving their evolution – the Second Deep Transition. This paper develops a new theoretical framework that aims to explain the emergence, acceleration, stabilization and directionality of Deep Transitions. It does so through the synthesis of two literatures that have attempted to explain large-scale and long-term socio-technical change: the Multi-level Perspective (MLP) on socio-technical transitions, and Techno-economic Paradigm (TEP) framework

Perspectives on Emergence in Information Systems Research

In this research essay we contend that “emergence,” or the formation of complex wholes from parts, is a fundamental concept for comprehending the dynamic relationships between people, technology, and organizations during the ongoing cycles of design, appropriation, and use of information systems. Past research on emergent phenomena use the concept with varying degrees of attention to the structural and functional changes that have occurred to components in the emergent whole or to the implications of the processes by which emergence occurs. Refining our perspectives of emergence will guide researchers in clarifying how the socio-technical whole is greater than the constituent parts and how the whole comes into existence over time. In this article, we define three forms of emergence and provide both research exemplars and a framework for categorizing emergent phenomena to better articulate and refine how we understand emergent phenomena in Information Systems