ABSTRACT
In an open dynamic environment, autonomous agents form a network organization (NO) by engaging in active connections with other autonomous agents in order to achieve common goals. In some situations, due to an agent’s scale of dynamism, these connections may include agents that have had no previous experience (i.e., no prior associations); thus, agents are required to coordinate their actions and cooperate toward a common goal. As a result, agent members of NOs are more likely to cohesively collaborate as a means to build and maintain their network. Moreover, an NO behaves as a complicated system interwoven with commonplace social relationships, not as a closed system. Thus, the magnitude of these networks’ interactions and the pace of social change that they produce are context specific. To this end, this chapter will describe the general construction (i.e., formation and internal structure) of an NO as they can affect the internal and external ties and interactions of agents within the NO. This chapter will also present the methods of agent-based modeling as a means to define specific tools (e.g., norms, roles, capabilities, utilities) that inherently affect agent behaviors and help them to socially connect with other agents through the formation, modification, and expansion of the organization. A case study of a terrorist organization known as Aum Shinrikyo (Aum) will be analyzed using a classic bottom-up perspective of influence on autonomous agents through the social structure. As this study theorizes that average global utility will decrease when there is a strong fluctuation in agent contributions, the bottoms-up perspective will be able to address these fluctuations. Furthermore, a dynamic explanation is considered for any prospective fluctuations prevalent in small groups, as large groups are more likely to be involved in a collective action. Consequently, using NetLogo as a prototyping platform, a simulation is implemented to illustrate that such fluctuations may have a dramatic impact on the average utility of the group.
