Related links

Web search: Google Web Search   ::   Google Scholar

Abstract

Previous simulation work on the evolution of communication has not shown how a large signal repertoire could emerge in situated agents. We present an artificial life simulation of agents, situated in a two-dimensional world, that must search for other agents with whom they can trade resources. With strong restrictions on which resources can be traded for others, initially non-communicating agents evolve/learn a signal system that describes the resource they seek and the resource they are willing to offer in return. A large signal repertoire emerges mainly through an evolutionary process. Agents whose production and comprehension abilities rely on a single mechanism fare best, although learning enables agents with separate mechanisms to achieve some measure of success. These results demonstrate that substantial signaling repertoires can evolve in situated multi-agent systems, and suggest that simulated social interactions such as trading may provide a useful context for further computational studies of the evolution of communication.

Keywords: consensus, evolution of communication, multi-agent system, situatedness, symbol grounding

@article{wagner06emergenceCommunication,
  author={Kyle Wagner and James A. Reggia},
  title={The emergence of an internally-grounded, multireferent communication system},
  journal={Interaction Studies},
  year={2006},
  volume={7},
  number={1},
  pages={105-129},
  url={http://www.isrl.uiuc.edu/~amag/langev/paper/wagner06emergenceCommunication.html},
  keywords={consensus, evolution of communication, multi-agent system, situatedness, symbol grounding}
}