Many networks are used to transfer information or goods, in other words, they
are navigated. The larger the network, the more difficult it is to navigate
efficiently. Indeed, information routing in the Internet faces serious
scalability problems due to its rapid growth, recently accelerated by the rise
of the Internet of Things. Large networks like the Internet can be navigated
efficiently if nodes, or agents, actively forward information based on hidden
maps underlying these systems. However, in reality most agents will deny to
forward messages, which has a cost, and navigation is impossible. Can we design
appropriate incentives that lead to participation and global navigability?
Here, we present an evolutionary game where agents share the value generated by
successful delivery of information or goods. We show that global navigability
can emerge, but its complete breakdown is possible as well. Furthermore, we
show that the system tends to self-organize into local clusters of agents who
participate in the navigation. This organizational principle can be exploited
to favor the emergence of global navigability in the system.Comment: Supplementary Information and Videos:
https://koljakleineberg.wordpress.com/2016/11/14/collective-navigation-of-complex-networks-participatory-greedy-routing