University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Disrupting the coming robot stampedes: Designing resilient information ecologies

Feldman, Philip Gregory; Dant, Aaron; Lutters, Wayne

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/103136

Description

Title
Disrupting the coming robot stampedes: Designing resilient information ecologies
Author(s)
  • Feldman, Philip Gregory
  • Dant, Aaron
  • Lutters, Wayne
Issue Date
2019-03-15
Keyword(s)
  • Belief space
  • Autonomous vehicles
  • Simulation
  • Complexity
Abstract
Machines are designed to communicate widely and efficiently. Humans, less so. We evolved social structures that function best as small subgroups interacting within larger populations. Technology changes this dynamic, by allowing all individuals to be connected at the speed of light. A dense, tightly connected population can behave like a single agent. In animals, this happens in constrained areas where stampedes can easily form. Machines do not need these kinds of conditions. The very techniques used to design best-of-breed solutions may increase the risk of dangerous mass behaviors among homogeneous machines. In this paper we argue that ecologically-based design principles such as the presence of diversity are a broadly effective strategy to defend against unintended consequences at scale.
Publisher
iSchools
Series/Report Name or Number
iConference 2019 Proceedings
Type of Resource
text
Language
en
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/103136
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21900/iconf.2019.103136
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2019 Philip Gregory Feldman, Aaron Dant, and Wayne Lutters

Owning Collections

iConference 2019 Blue Sky Papers PRIMARY