About the Agent 20XY Conference

Preface to the 1999 Conference Proceedings

Agent simulation is a new approach to the study of social, economic, and physical systems. Following the publication of Thomas Schelling's groundbreaking book, Micromotives and Macrobehavior (W.W. Norton, 1978), many scholars have made pivotal contributions that demonstrate the potential of complex, adaptive models for representing large-scale and emergent social processes. While many important effects have been demonstrated, this approach to studying complex systems is not yet a fully realized methodology. This workshop addressed several questions related to this new field of inquiry.

• What has been accomplished so far?
• In what areas does agent research have the potential to contribute?
• What kind of information can agent models yield, and how should it be interpreted and used?
• What constitutes validation of an agent model, and, in particular, what permutations and scaling of validation are needed as models become more complex?
• What are the strengths and limiations of available agent toolkits, and what features are proposed - and needed - in the next generation of tools?
• What is the research horizon?

In addition to presentations and discussions on these larger issues, the workshop included presentations on specific applications in computational economics and agent models of electrical networks.

This workshop was intended to provide a meeting ground for a stimulating exchange of diverse views. Indeed, a topic reiterated throughout the workshop was the importance of continued conversation between experts concerned with the content, theories, and conclusions of individual subject domains and experts concerned with advancing the art and science of simulation. From such conversations there will surely arise many unexpected and fruitful applications of the concepts and tools of complex adaptive systems. The proceedings are presented in that spirit.