Aligning Models of Normative Systems and Artificial Societies: Towards norm-governed behavior in virtual enterprises

The purpose is to explore how norm-governed behavior within agent societies can be achieved in the context of Virtual Enterprises. We analyze a number of formal models from the agent research field, of which three models focus on the society aspects and three models focus on norms. A general observation is that the models reviewed are not concordant with each other and therefore require further alignment. A number of additions that may enrich the norm-focused models are suggested. It is also concluded that the introduction of different types of norms on different levels can be applied to ensure sound collaboration in agent-supported virtual enterprises. Moreover, the deployment of norm defender and promoter functionality is suggested to ensure norm compliance and punishments of norm violations

Modeling social norms in real-world agent-based simulations

Studying and simulating social systems including human groups and societies can be a complex problem. In order to build a model that simulates humans\u27 actions, it is necessary to consider the major factors that affect human behavior. Norms are one of these factors: social norms are the customary rules that govern behavior in groups and societies. Norms are everywhere around us, from the way people handshake or bow to the clothes they wear. They play a large role in determining our behaviors. Studies on norms are much older than the age of computer science, since normative studies have been a classic topic in sociology, psychology, philosophy and law. Various theories have been put forth about the functioning of social norms. Although an extensive amount of research on norms has been performed during the recent years, there remains a significant gap between current models and models that can explain real-world normative behaviors. Most of the existing work on norms focuses on abstract applications, and very few realistic normative simulations of human societies can be found. The contributions of this dissertation include the following: 1) a new hybrid technique based on agent-based modeling and Markov Chain Monte Carlo is introduced. This method is used to prepare a smoking case study for applying normative models. 2) This hybrid technique is described using category theory, which is a mathematical theory focusing on relations rather than objects. 3) The relationship between norm emergence in social networks and the theory of tipping points is studied. 4) A new lightweight normative architecture for studying smoking cessation trends is introduced. This architecture is then extended to a more general normative framework that can be used to model real-world normative behaviors. The final normative architecture considers cognitive and social aspects of norm formation in human societies. Normative architectures based on only one of these two aspects exist in the literature, but a normative architecture that effectively includes both of these two is missing

Leadership, Violence, and Warfare in Small Societies

Multi-agent simulation was used to study the effect of simple models of leadership on interpersonal violence and warfare in small societies. Agents occupied a two dimensional landscape containing villages and food sources. Sharing and stealing contributed to normative reputation. Violence occurred during theft, in revenge killings, and in leader-directed warfare between groups. The simulations were run over many generations to examine the effect of violence on social development. The results indicate that leadership reduced the survival probability of the population. Interpersonal violence killed more agents than warfare when intra-group violence was permitted. More aggressive leaders did not always prevail over less aggressive leaders due to the inherent risks associated with attacks. The results of the simulation are compared to cross-cultural studies and to observations of indigenous Pacific island societies.Multi-Agent Simulation, Leadership, Violence, Warfare, Pacific Island Societies

Normative and Legal Pluralism: A Global Perspective

This lecture sets out to demystify the topic of legal pluralism by examining the relationship between legal pluralism, normative pluralism, and general normative theory from a global perspective. The central theme is that treating legal pluralism as a species of normative pluralism decenters the state, links legal pluralism to a rich body of literature, and helps to show that some of the central puzzlements surrounding the topic can usefully be viewed as much broader issues in the general theory of norms and legal theory. A second theme is that so-called “global legal pluralism” is in several respects qualitatively different from the older anthropological and socio-legal accounts of legal pluralism and is largely based on a different set of concerns

COIN@AAMAS2015

COIN@AAMAS2015 is the nineteenth edition of the series and the fourteen papers included in these proceedings demonstrate the vitality of the community and will provide the grounds for a solid workshop program and what we expect will be a most enjoyable and enriching debate.Peer reviewe

Exploring the resource recovery potentials of municipal solid waste: a review of solid wastes composting in developing countries

Population explosion, high urbanization and improved living standards have induced rapid changes in quantities and materiacompositions of solid waste generation globally. Until recently solid waste disposal in landfills and open dump sites waconsidered more economical and it is the most widely used methods in developing countries. Hence the potentials in the othealternative methods such as the resource recovery and recycling and their integration into waste management have been scarcelassessed. However, the ever growing challenges posed by the rapidly increasing quantities and compositions of solid wastes ideveloping countries led to the searching for alternative waste disposal methods. In this regard the paper presented an assessmenof the resource potentials of municipal solid waste materials arising from cities in developing countries as a strategy fosustainable solid waste management. Using published data on solid waste composition the paper has identified that there is higpotentials of composting in the solid waste stream from cities in developing countries. In conclusion, it recommended the recoverof organic waste material and papers for composting and the recycling of plastic, metals, textiles and others to explore their resource recovery potentials. This will largely reduce the ultimate quantities of solid waste for disposal and lower the operatincosts. This strategy will achieve sustainable waste management in developing countries. It is hoped that the paper has provided useful guide for wastes management policy decisions in developing countries

Contract Formation through Preemptive Normative Conflict Resolution

Publisher PD

Simulating Realistic Social and Individual Behavior in Agent Societies

While the value of simulations as a tool in the natural sciences has been realized for quite some time, its potential in the social sciences is only beginning to be explored. A class of simulations used to study social behavior and phenomena is known as social simulations. One particular type of social simulation is known as agent based social simulation. Here agents are used to model social entities such as people, groups and towns. A purpose of these models is to reproduce realistic behavior in the simulation which is then used to draw conclusions about the corresponding real world entities. However reproducing realistic behavior is a difficult task. This is in part due to the fact that human actions and interactions do not adhere to well defined rules. A successful solution to this problem must reproduce realistic individual decision making as well as realistic social interactions. We propose two models. First, a model for producing realistic decision making is based off human intuition and deliberation. This model is tested in the Iterative Ultimatum Game and Bargaining Game. It is shown that when agents use both intuitive and deliberative decision making they make decisions similar to those of human subjects. Next we propose a realistic model for social interactions. Our agents remain selfish and are able to break relationships in order to maximize their utility. It is shown that when agents are able to break unrewarding relationships that a Pareto‐optimum strategy arises as the social convention. In addition we conclude the rate and amount of Pareto‐optimum strategy that arises is dependent on the network structure when the networks are dynamic and the rate is independent of the network structure when the networks are static

From rules to examples: Machine learning's type of authority

This paper analyzes the effects of a perceived transition from a rule-based computer programming paradigm to an example-based paradigm associated with machine learning. While both paradigms coexist in practice, we critically discuss the distinctive epistemological and ethical implications of machine learning's “exemplary” type of authority. To capture its logic, we compare it to computer programming rules that date to the middle of the 20th century, showing how rules and examples have regulated human conduct in significantly different ways. In contrast to the highly constructed, explicit, and prescriptive form of authority imposed by programming rules, machine learning models are trained using data that has been made into examples. These examples elicit norms in an implicit, emergent manner to make prediction and classification possible. We analyze three ways that examples are produced in machine learning: labeling, feature engineering, and scaling. We use the phrase “artificial naturalism” to characterize the tensions of this type of authority, in which examples sit ambiguously between data and norm