Stigmergic Economy And Large-Scale, Decentralized Networks - Matan Field
-
Upload
network-society-research -
Category
Internet
-
view
499 -
download
2
Transcript of Stigmergic Economy And Large-Scale, Decentralized Networks - Matan Field
(Stigmergic) Network SocietyFrom rigid hierarchies to decentralized networks
Matan Field BACKFEED
Network Society congress, October 2015
Large-scale (self) coordination
Vision
Observation
Means
Examples
Text
The vision:Networks without Incs
Text
Observation: StigmergyIndirect, spontaneous coordination
5/19/2015 Stigmergy - Wikipedia, the free encycloped
Ants paths build from pheromonetraces
StigmergyFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stigmergy is a mechanism of indirect coordination betweenagents or actions.[1] The principle is that the trace left in theenvironment by an action stimulates the performance of a nextaction, by the same or a different agent. In that way, subsequentactions tend to reinforce and build on each other, leading to thespontaneous emergence of coherent, apparently systematicactivity.
Stigmergy is a form of self-organization. It produces complex,seemingly intelligent structures, without need for any planning,control, or even direct communication between the agents. Assuch it supports efficient collaboration between extremely simpleagents, who lack any memory, intelligence or even individual awareness of each other.[1]
Contents
1 History2 Stigmergic behavior in lower organisms3 Stigmergic behavior in social movements4 Stigmergy Society5 Applications6 See also7 References8 External links
History
The term "stigmergy" was introduced by French biologist Pierre-Paul Grassé in 1959 to refer to termitebehavior. He defined it as: "Stimulation of workers by the performance they have achieved." It isderived from the Greek words στίγμα stigma "mark, sign" and ἔργον ergon "work, action", andcaptures the notion that an agent’s actions leave signs in the environment, signs that it and other agentssense and that determine and incite their subsequent actions.[2]
Later on, a distinction was made between the stigmergic phenomenon, which is specific to the guidanceof additional work, and the more general, non-work specific incitation, for which the term sematectoniccommunication was coined[3] by E. O. Wilson, from the Greek words σῆμα sema "sign, token", andτέκτων tecton "craftsman, builder": "There is a need for a more general, somewhat less clumsyexpression to denote the evocation of any form of behavior or physiological change by the evidences ofwork performed by other animals, including the special case of the guidance of additional work."
Stigmergy is now one of the key[4] concepts in the field of swarm intelligence.
Stigmergy Indirect, spontaneous coordination
Agents emit signals
Agents decisions are biased by those signals
Bias is “designed” to induce synchronicity of actions
No agent has control of anything
Unstable to self-aware, exploiting agents (semi-resilience)
Text
Ants algorithmOptimal minimal-path finder
Stigmergy in Nature
• The only large-scale coordination in nature
• Fits well very simple (algorithmic) agents
• No need for incentive or trust
• Cooperation is (almost) the winning strategy
• Unstable to self-aware agents
Evolution of human large-scale coordination
Evolution
Centralized
Federated
Distributed, local
Distributed, global
Information
Value
Governance
Rigid coordination Centralized: hierarchical governance, kingdoms
Linear process of information
Rapid decisions in static conditions
Highly vulnerable to rapid changes & critical mistakes
Federated coordination Semi-distributed: democracy, the Internet
Semi-parallel
Sensitive to corruption
Still not adopting fast enough
Market (p2p) coordination Subjective distribution: pure capitalism
Local optimization (no global coordination)
Driving competition, twists and severe inequalities
Non-sustainable: rolling over the cliff
Stigmergic coordination Inter-subjective distribution: DCO
Decentralization
Scalability
Resilience
Macro-diversity
Micro-homogeneity
Incentive: Cooperation is the winning strategy
Cooperation is the winning strategy
Means
Distributed Hash Table (DHT)Distributed protocol for file (information) sharing
Distributed Hash Table (DHT)BitTorrent, IPFS, Synereo, …
Text
The BlockchainA distributed, consensus protocol (based only on “algorithmically verifiable input”)
Text
The BlockchainA distributed computer
BACKFEED protocolA distriburted, consensus protocol based on human input
BACKFEED protocol
P2P evaluation mechanics
Decentralized reputation system
Decentralized value-distribution system
Incentive model for (early) cooperation(makes collaboration the winning strategy)
BACKFEED protocolDNA for Decentralized Collaborative Organisations
BACKFEED protocolDNA for Distributed Network Society
The blockchain stack
DHT
Blockchain
Backfeed protocol
Collaborative platform
Visual Browser
BLOCKCHAIN STACKINTERNET STACK
Evaluation protocol, Reputation and Token distribution
TOKEN DISTRIBUTION
Each evaluation is made of 3 key elements:
• Evaluation (in tokens) of the contribution under evaluation
• Reputation of the evaluator that determines the weight of her vote
• Reputation at stake, as a fraction of the evaluator’s reputation
TOKEN DISTRIBUTION
REPUTATION SYSTEM
What the tokens are for?
ExamplesDecentralized Ride-Sharing
Decentralized Journalism / Media
Decentralized Insurance
Decentralized Makers / Startups
Decentralize VC
Decentralized Environmental Movement
Decentralized Social Network
BACKFEED Team
control nothing