[FRIAM] Any non-biological complex systems?

[Stephen Guerin]

On Thu, May 25, 2017 at 12:00 AM, Russ Abbott <russ.abbott at gmail.com> wrote:

> What about my revised question. Can we think of anything that is
> non-biological, non-human, and not a biological or human artifact that
> would qualify as an agent based system?


Let me take a stab at what this could mean - but I first have to understand
what you mean by agent-based system.

To me, "agent-based system" is an interesting mashup between two research
disciplines - "Multi-Agent Systems (MAS)" from the Distirbuted AI community
and "Agent-Based Modeling (ABM)" from the Complexity research community.

In MAS, systems and models are one and the same. It is a deployed system
comprised of agents. It is not trying to model anything.

In our use, an agent-based model is one possible modeling formalization of
a system. A coupled differential equation would be an alternative. Or a
discrete-event queuing model a potential third way to model a system.

To make the distinction at the office, when we deploy systems with agents
we are not modeling anything. Here, I try to consistently use the term
"agent-oriented programming" or "agent-based system" instead of
"agent-based model". And in these cases, the agents are semi-autonomous
when compared to "object-oriented programming" or "object-oriented systems"
where there is a greater reliance on a centralized "main()" thread that is
controlling all the objects. I don't think this is what you mean by
agent-based system.

Stu Kauffman introduced the term "Autonomous Agent" which I'll always use
in capitals, as it really captures something greater than merely
"semi-autonomous agents" which I think of as simple interacting finite
state machines. Autonomous Agents by contrast, are approaching living
systems with the use of energy gradients, sensing of gradients using
informational kinematic flows vs mass-based force interactions and the
constructions of constraints (equivalent with information btw) to extract
work as well as applying work to maintain constraints to realize
work-cycles.

So I'm guessing, Russ, that you're asking "can we think of any
non-biological examples of Autonomous Agents?" - my answer would initially
say "no, I can't".

And if I had beer with you I'd give a subtler murkier answer. I would say
there's a more complete definition of living systems than Autonomous Agents
that looks at the whole breakdown channels of mass and energy flows as
Harold Morowitz and Eric Smith have been describing
<https://www.amazon.com/Origin-Nature-Life-Earth-Emergence/dp/1107121884>.
Life is a property of the process in the full ecological interactions and
not a property of a given entity. It ceases to make sense to ask if a virus
or an Autonomous Agent is alive or dead. Life is not a property of an
individual. (apologies for butchering this, Eric). I would add to Harold
and Eric's description that all Autonomous Agents have a dual in their
ecological interactions that is seeking to dissipate their gradients as
much as the Autonomous Agent is seeking to extract work from theirs. I'm
guessing the interactions of chloroplasts and mitochondria in an
autotrophic plant cell are close to this.

As you get systems of coupled complex systems that are all dissipating
gradients that are generated by the other and all complex systems are open
to matter and energy flows, the boundary of a living system continues to
expand out to the point that I start to sound like a pantheist and the
world as a whole system is alive. I choose to take it on faith that it is.
At that point, what does a non-biological system mean in our world :-)

-S
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Stephen.Guerin at Simtable.com <stephen.guerin at simtable.com>
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