Social Learning in Neural Agent-Based Models.

Agent-based models (ABMs) are widely used to study how individual interactions shape collective behaviors. Critics argue that ABMs are often too simplistic to capture real-world complexities. We address this by integrating artificial neural networks into ABMs, focusing on enhancing the Hegselmann–Kr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philosophy of Science Vol. 92; no. 1; pp. 141 - 162
Main Author: Douven, Igor
Format: Article
Published: Cambridge University Press Jan2025
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:Agent-based models (ABMs) are widely used to study how individual interactions shape collective behaviors. Critics argue that ABMs are often too simplistic to capture real-world complexities. We address this by integrating artificial neural networks into ABMs, focusing on enhancing the Hegselmann–Krause (HK) model. By using multilayer perceptrons as agents, we create more realistic ABMs that better reflect actual agents. This approach yields multiple models, as core elements of the HK model can be defined in various ways. We conduct two computational studies to compare these models with each other and with traditional individual-learning paradigms.