Complex Adaptive Systems
Mirsad HadzikadicDean, College of Information
Technology, University of North Carolina at
Charlotte
Agenda
• CoIT• Introduction• Properties• Examples• Not a CAS• Demos• Power Law• Summary
Academic Units Department of Computer Science Department of Software & Information
Systems Programs BS/BA Computer Science BA Software and Information Systems MS CS & IT PH.D IT Certificates, minor
Centers National Security Agency Center of
Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education
eBusiness Technology Institute Center for Computer Security and
Assurance Regional Center for Visualization and
Analytics Center for Bioinformatics
Laboratories Information Integration, Security, and
Privacy Information Environments Mobile and Multimedia Communications Software Solutions Computer Forensics Virtual Reality Visualization
Robotics Knowledge and Data Discovery Computer Engineering Parallel Processing Imaging, Visualization, and Vision Home Security
College of IT
2004 Enrollment
Program CSCI S&IS
BA, BS 400 100
Undergraduate Certificate 10 N/A
Graduate Certificate 5 30
MS 130 70
Ph.D. IT 70
Faculty
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
1999 2002 2005
Full-TimePart-Time
Research Focus Areas
• Computer / Information Security• Bioinformatics• Visualization• Networking & Information Environments
• Intelligent Systems
Synergy
External Funding ($M)
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Woodward Hall
Introduction
Properties
• Not-so-intelligent agents, both homogeneous and heterogeneous
• Local, frequent interactions• Non-linear phenomena - the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
• Adaptation• Fitness function (agent and system)• Self-organization
• Self-organization is a process where the organization of a system spontaneously increases over time, thus enabling the system to cope with the unexpected, and increasingly complex, behavior of the environment it exists in
• Emergent properties/behavior
Wise Crowds
• U.S. Submarine Scorpion, 1968• Jelly-beans-in-the-jar• Maze• The Space Shuttle Challenger• Prediction
Super Bowl, World Series Iowa Electronics Market Project, Hollywood Stock Exchange
Stock Market Corporate Decision Making
• The Four Conditions That Characterize Wise Crowds Diversity of Opinion Independence Decentralization Aggregation
Examples
• Brain• Immune System• Economy• Water• Internet, Google• Ant Colonies, Slime Mold, Swarms• Flocks (boids)• Environment• Voting, Stock Market
Not a CAS
• An example of a non-complex system In equilibrium economic models all consumers are identical - no change in preferences or characteristics
Demos
• NKS• LifeLab• NetLogo• Student Projects Encryption Piracy Traffic Rebates
Pricing Feature Relevance
Ants Financial markets
Power Law
Summary
• Simple agents, complex interactions• Self-organization• Non-linearity• Improvement over time/feedback• Macro emergent behavior• “There is plenty of room at the bottom” - Richard Feynman Molecular biology / DNA (biology, chemistry) Quantum mechanics (physics) Nanotechnology (optics) Strings Theory
Questions?