ECCON 2006: Organisations as Chaordic Panarchies Capturing Intentionality, Competence and Capabilities in Generic Agent Models using Boolean Rule Sets

Simulation techniques are powerful tools in studying the nature and behaviour of complex interactive systems, whether they are, for example, weather systems, mechanical structures, or systems that involve humans, e.g. social systems, and organisations. In this first article of a series we explore the agent in its environment as a single entity with a static rule set. In subsequent articles we will explore the interaction between multiple agents, the evolution of rule-sets through learning, “social ” interaction, reproduction and “sexual” transmission. In the evolution of the sophistication of agents, 5 distinct levels will be identified. Each of these levels marks the addition of a new quality/capability to the agent. This paper explores the possibilities of capturing this wide range of agents into one descriptive model. As interactions between agent and environment presuppose the existence of events that can be observed by these agents and actions that can be executed by such agents, describing these agents in Boolean mathematics as sets of “IF {event} THEN {action} “ type of rules is an adequate way to express agent behaviour in mathematical terms, in order to understand thei