The Impact of Locality and Authority on ergent Conventions: Init ial Observations

In the design of systems of multiple agents, we must deal with the potential for conflict that is inherent in the interactions among agents; to en-sure efficient operation, these interactions must be coordinated. We extend, in two related ways, an existing framework that allows behavioral con-ventions to emerge in agent societies. We first consider localizing agents, thus limiting their in-teractions. We then consider giving some agents authority over others by implementing asymmet-ric interactions. Our primary interest is to ex-plore how locality and authority affect the emer-gence of conventions. Through computer simula-tions of agent societies of various configurations, we begin to develop an intuition about what fea-tures of a society promote or inhibit the sponta-neous generation of coordinating conventions