Complex Adaptive Systems

1. Complex Adaptive Systems Mirsad Hadzikadic Dean,College of Information Technology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

2. Agenda • CoIT • Introduction • Properties • Examples • Not a CAS • Demos • Power Law • Summary

3. College of IT Academic Units • Department of Computer Science • Department of Software & Information Systems • Programs • BS/BA Computer Science • BA Software and Information Systems • MS CS & IT • PH.D IT • Certificates, minor Centers • National Security Agency Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education • eBusiness Technology Institute • Center for Computer Security and Assurance • Regional Center for Visualization and Analytics • Center for Bioinformatics Laboratories • Information Integration, Security, and Privacy • Information Environments • Mobile and Multimedia Communications • Software Solutions • Computer Forensics • Virtual Reality • Visualization • Robotics • Knowledge and Data Discovery • Computer Engineering • Parallel Processing • Imaging, Visualization, and Vision • Home Security

4. 2004Enrollment

5. Faculty

6. Research Focus Areas • Computer / Information Security • Bioinformatics • Visualization • Networking & Information Environments • Intelligent Systems • Synergy

7. External Funding ($M)

8. Woodward Hall

9. Introduction

10. Properties • Not-so-intelligent agents, both homogeneous and heterogeneous • Local, frequent interactions • Non-linear phenomena - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts • Adaptation • Fitness function (agent and system) • Self-organization

11. Self-organization is a process where the organization of a system spontaneously increases over time, thus enabling the system to cope with the unexpected, and increasingly complex, behavior of the environment it exists in • Emergent properties/behavior

12. Wise Crowds • U.S. Submarine Scorpion, 1968 • Jelly-beans-in-the-jar • Maze • The Space Shuttle Challenger • Prediction • Super Bowl, World Series • Iowa Electronics Market Project, Hollywood Stock Exchange • Stock Market • Corporate Decision Making

13. The Four Conditions That Characterize Wise Crowds • Diversity of Opinion • Independence • Decentralization • Aggregation

14. Examples • Brain • Immune System • Economy • Water • Internet, Google • Ant Colonies, Slime Mold, Swarms • Flocks (boids) • Environment • Voting, Stock Market

15. Not a CAS • An example of a non-complex system • In equilibrium economic models all consumers are identical - no change in preferences or characteristics

16. Demos • NKS • LifeLab • NetLogo • Student Projects • Encryption • Piracy • Traffic • Rebates • Pricing • Feature Relevance • Ants • Financial markets

17. Power Law

18. Summary

19. Simple agents, complex interactions • Self-organization • Non-linearity • Improvement over time/feedback • Macro emergent behavior • “There is plenty of room at the bottom” - Richard Feynman • Molecular biology / DNA (biology, chemistry) • Quantum mechanics (physics) • Nanotechnology (optics) • Strings Theory

20. Questions?