There has been worldwide growth in the use of simulation as a research tool due to a convergence of interest in studying complex systems, advances in artificial intelligence, and the availability of powerful computers. Simulation has been adopted as a research technique in many areas of science and, as this book shows, it is now making a significant impact on social science.
Artificial societies has two principal aims.
First, it demonstrates the latest practice in using computer simulation to develop ideas and theories in a range of social science disciplines, including sociology, political science, economics, anthropology, geography, archaelogy and linguistics. Using simulation, researchers can now carry out social experiments under laboratory conditions, trying out different configurations and observing the consequences. Simulation raises fundamental issues in social science, and one of the themes of this book is the question of how the relationship between the macro and the micro is best understood. The contributors examine how macro level properties can emerge from micro level interactions, ranging from the creation of languages, to the spatial arrangements of towns and cities, and to the complex kinship structures of indigenous societies. This book breaks fresh ground both clearly and concisely, and it will be of considerable interest to social scientists intrigued by the possibilities of a new way of studying societies and to computer scientists interested in new applications of distributed artificial intelligence.