October 20th Talk – The analogical roots of ABMs in Economics and Social Sciences

On October 20th philosopher, economist and data scientist Massimo Rusconi will join us in person at HLRS to give a talk about his recent work on agent-based models.

Abstract:

Agent-based models (ABMs) have become widespread in recent years in Economics and the Social Sciences for exploring hidden and emergent behaviors in complex systems. However, creating and implementing an ABM involves addressing multiple epistemological and methodological challenges, including balancing the intricate interplay between its function, purpose, and target. These challenges emerge at various ontological levels, spanning from its conceptual framework to its computational execution. Researchers must therefore rely on pragmatic rules of thumb and community consensus to guide their modeling strategies, carefully scrutinize computational boundaries, and emphasize the importance of empirical validation. 

This talk will provide theoretical support for the field’s current state of the art by revisiting and deepening our understanding of the analogical account of ABMs. By interpreting the process of ABM construction as a two-stage recursive level of multiple iterated analogical arguments, we conceptualize ABMs as distributed cognitive systems, elucidate practitioners’ epistemological and methodological choices, and provide a valuable meta-analytical framework by embracing both pragmatic and structural perspectives.