Universality in Multi-Agent Systems
H. Van Dyke Parunak, Sven Brueckner, Robert S. Savit · Adaptive Agents and Multi-Agents Systems · 2004
Much research in MAS explores how refinements to one agentýs reasoning can improve system performance. Sometimes, aspects of a systemýs behavior are independent of individual agentsý algorithms. Inspired by statistical physics, we term this phenomenon universality: systems whose elements differ widely may have common emergent features. We develop a notion of universality in MAS based on the conceptýs use in its original (physics) setting. We give examples of the phenomenon, and discuss its implications for the theory and practice of MAS. We speculate that there exists a hierarchy of types of universality. The statistical mechanics sense refers to the most refined, simplest, and quantitative, while commonalities among MAS systems are associated with somewhat more general and qualitative levels of universality. Such a hierarchy would be an important integrating principle across systems of interacting components, including human societies, animal ecologies, multi-agent systems, and atoms and molecules.