1. EIASM Academic Council Meeting Roberto Serra Modena and Reggio Emilia University

2. EIASM AC Meeting CETRA: Complexity Education and TRAining A EU-Leonardo project A EU-Leonardo project To improve the knowledge of companies (and in particular SME’s) in complex systems concepts and applications To improve the knowledge of companies (and in particular SME’s) in complex systems concepts and applications Case studies Case studies  Complexity and innovation Guidelines for courses and curricula Guidelines for courses and curricula Development and test of selected modules Development and test of selected modules

3. EIASM AC Meeting Key concepts selected in Cetra Self organization Self organization emergent properties emergent properties Description levels Description levels Reciprocal causality Reciprocal causality Positive feedback Positive feedback Path dependency Path dependency Frozen accidents Frozen accidents Networks Networks Tangled hierarchies Tangled hierarchies Self-similarity Self-similarity Universality Universality Adaptation and exaptation Adaptation and exaptation Coevolution Coevolution Edge of chaos Edge of chaos Redundancy and degeneracy Redundancy and degeneracy

4. EIASM AC Meeting The importance of models Dynamical models Dynamical models Cellular automata Cellular automata Agent-based models Agent-based models Genetic algorithms Genetic algorithms Genetic programming Genetic programming Genetic networks Genetic networks......

5. EIASM AC Meeting Tools to solve well-defined technical problems EU-Esprit projects Caboto and Colombo: in-situ bioremediation of contaminated soils. Scale-up from pilot plant to the field (cellular automata model)

6. EIASM AC Meeting Models as conceptual tools to address largely unknown problems Example: innovation (requires analysis at different levels!) Example: innovation (requires analysis at different levels!) EU-FET project Iscom (Information Society as a COMplex system) EU-FET project Iscom (Information Society as a COMplex system)  Modena and Reggio Emilia University (I)  Universitè Paris La Sorbonne (F)  CNRS, Paris (F)  Imperial College (UK) Models allow us to bridge the gap from a micro-theory to its consequences at a macro-level Models allow us to bridge the gap from a micro-theory to its consequences at a macro-level

7. EIASM AC Meeting Constraints from the theory transformations occur both in agent and artifact space transformations occur both in agent and artifact space => Agents and artifacts are both important => Agents and artifacts are both important Innovation leads to modifications of the role of agents as well as of the meaning of artifacts Innovation leads to modifications of the role of agents as well as of the meaning of artifacts => both must be endogeneously generated => both must be endogeneously generated  External fitness functions cannot be used here Directedness (both in artifact and in agent space) Directedness (both in artifact and in agent space) => agents have intentionality => agents have intentionality

8. EIASM AC Meeting outline of the model agents use artifacts, produced by other agents, to build other artifacts agents use artifacts, produced by other agents, to build other artifacts  Using suitable recipes  Presently, artifacts are represented as numbers and recipes as operators which can be “sold” to yet other agents, or to an “external world” which can be “sold” to yet other agents, or to an “external world”  agents and artifacts coevolve in order to better exploit the opportunities of their mutual relationships and of the “external” world the meaning of artifacts is defined by which agents use them, and for what the meaning of artifacts is defined by which agents use them, and for what the role of agents is defined by what they do, and by the other agents with which they interact the role of agents is defined by what they do, and by the other agents with which they interact Agents can innovate: they identify a new artifact as their goal and try to build the corresponding recipe Agents can innovate: they identify a new artifact as their goal and try to build the corresponding recipe

9. EIASM AC Meeting Example: heterogeneity What are the effects of the agent heterogenity? What are the effects of the agent heterogenity? We can consider different styles of innovation We can consider different styles of innovation  Innovation rate  Jump frequency and range  Jump identifies an attempt to build something really different from the existent Homogeneous vs heterogeneous systems Homogeneous vs heterogeneous systems

10. EIASM AC Meeting In general, frequent innovators perform better than the others In general, frequent innovators perform better than the others But a world populated only by large jumpers is very fragile But a world populated only by large jumpers is very fragile On the other hand, innovation is very slow in a world populated by small jumpers only On the other hand, innovation is very slow in a world populated by small jumpers only The best results are achieved in the case where both types coexist The best results are achieved in the case where both types coexist A result which was not obvious a priori – it shows that the theory can account for this phenomenon! A result which was not obvious a priori – it shows that the theory can account for this phenomenon!

11. EIASM AC Meeting Network of artifact types initial t=350 t=4000