Agent-Based Models and Generative Explanations in Complex Systems - Data Hub Tech Talk 

Presenter: Dr. Bert Baumgaertner, University of Idaho, Associate Professor of Philosophy
Presented: 3/26/2024
Complex systems are everywhere; in biology, social science, engineering, etc. Sometimes those systems exhibit patterns, like bird flocking or belief polarization, and we try to learn how those patterns are generated from the interactions between system elements. Other times we know the behaviors of individuals, like preferential attachment, and we try to predict patterns that may emerge from individuals' interactions.
In both cases we use one level of detail to explain how that may generate system behavior at another level of detail. This talk will illustrate how agent-based models (and related network models) are used to study those generative explanations. We will go over several examples, using the freely available NetLogo platform.
Attendees are not required to have NetLogo, but if they would like to follow along by downloading the software or using its web client, they can do so here: ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/index.shtml