Pietro Terna | Università degli Studi di Torino (original) (raw)
Papers by Pietro Terna
The main focus of this work is to propose a framework1 to investigate how enterprises arise, beha... more The main focus of this work is to propose a framework1 to investigate how enterprises arise, behave and fall, how they interact and, finally, how we can improve them. The tool that we introduce here to help us in this research effort (our “quest for the enterprise”) is a large agent based simulation framework, able to reproduce in a detailed
An overview of the Large-Scale Multi-Agent Modelling of Massively Multi-Player On-Line Role-Playi... more An overview of the Large-Scale Multi-Agent Modelling of Massively Multi-Player On-Line Role-Playing Games (ModelMMORPG) project financed by the Croatian Science Foundation is provided. ModelMMORPG aimed on studying Massively Multiplayer Online Role- Playing Games (MMORPGs) using a combined computer science Multiagent System (MAS) and a social science Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) methodology. The main results, performed activities, developed software as well as published papers are described and discussed. In the end a critical evaluation of the project is given.
Sistemi intelligenti, 1998
Questa nota è dedicata ad introdurre l'importante libro di Epstein e Axtell (1996) dedicato al mo... more Questa nota è dedicata ad introdurre l'importante libro di Epstein e Axtell (1996) dedicato al modello di simulazione sociale noto come Sugarscape. Seguono due commenti: il primo, a proposito del così detto individualismo metodologico; il secondo, sulla possibilità di definire uno schema robusto per lo sviluppo dei modelli di simulazione fondati su agenti, qual è il caso di Sugarscape. Sarebbero molto gradite repliche ai due commenti: è utile sostenere la discussione su questi temi proprio ora, quando si gettano le basi per un uso più ampio delle tecniche di simulazione "dal basso" o con agenti.
We propose a framework within which to investigate three topics: first, how enterprises and organ... more We propose a framework within which to investigate three topics: first, how enterprises and organizations arise, behave, and fall; second, how they interact; and finally, how we can improve them. The tool that we introduce here to help us in this research effort is a large agent-based simulation framework which is able to reproduce the enterprise context in a detailed way. The basis is an agent based computational experiment on rules and rule emergencenamed AESOP (Agents and Emergencies for Simulating Organizations in Python)-to use actions, agents (acting and deciding people) and the scheduling of events into an agent based framework. Agents may use fixed rules but they can also learn to improve these rules in a changing environment. They can also be modeled so as to be aware of the consequences of their behavior. In the simulator, single agents can also be modeled as neural networks, so that the system appears as a "net of neural networks". Alternatively, it is possible to introduce Bayesian learning processes in our models. The core of the simulator is the capability to reproduce, in detail, the decision making process of organizations, firms and individual agents. The basis of the method is the reconstruction of the investigated phenomenon via the action and interaction of minded or no-minded agents. We can integrate both no-minded agents-agents capable of just performing tasks they are ordered to carry and minded ones-agents capable of taking decisions within the model. 1 Acknowledgment for financial support of the basic framework of this research to the "tocai.it-Tecnologie Orientate alla Conoscienza per Aggregazioni di Imprese in Internet" project, http://www.dis.uniroma1.it/~tocai/index.php, whithin the FIRB (Fondo per gli Investimenti della Ricerca di Base) fund of the Italian Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca.
Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, 1997
The use of agents based models in the field of computational economics is widely spreading. Here ... more The use of agents based models in the field of computational economics is widely spreading. Here we introduce a tool (Cross Target method), useful in building artificial laboratories, for experimenting with learning, selfdeveloped consistency and interaction in artificial worlds of agents, to observe the emergence of rationality and complexity. Two examples of environments created with our technique will be introduced. * This research has been supported by grants from the Italian Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca scientifica e tecnologica, inside the project "Intermediazione finanziaria, funzionamento dei mercati ed economia reale".
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 1993
This paper shows that the effects of the interaction between simple artificial agents in a well d... more This paper shows that the effects of the interaction between simple artificial agents in a well defined economic environments, such as an artificial stock market, are useful to understand microeconomic events. We employ here the connectionist cross-target (CT) method [4] to build artificial neural subjects that make (i) guesses about their own actions and (ii) guesses about the effects of those actions. Each subject, learning and acting, develops the coherence between the two types of guesses. Our artificial interacting agents buy and sell shares, following cyclical behaviour (buying when the price rises and selling when the price diminishes) or developing risk aversion or true anti cyclical strategies. The last complex strategy can emerge from imitation between agents and randomness instead of reason.
Journal of Management & Governance, 2008
With this important book by North and Macal, we go directly to the application side of agent-base... more With this important book by North and Macal, we go directly to the application side of agent-based simulation (finally, we can add as a positive comment). Real-life applications of agent-based simulation technique are still unusual, for a number of reasons, the first of which being ...
We introduce here an application directed to a didactic use, but with interest also for the discu... more We introduce here an application directed to a didactic use, but with interest also for the discussion within the economic discipline, contributing to the spread of the simulation methodologies. One of the characteristics of the model is the explicit use of cognitive competences in the behavior of the producers, according the their learning capabilities. The rationality of the consumers is limited by the possibility of interacting with the producers only within a given distance. The distribution of the producers is differentiated by zones with the ...
1.1 Building models 2 1.2 The uses of simulation 5 1.3 From top to bottom and back again 6 2 Buil... more 1.1 Building models 2 1.2 The uses of simulation 5 1.3 From top to bottom and back again 6 2 Building multi-agent systems 9 2.1 Techniques for constructing agents 10 2.2 The agent's environment 12 3 Object oriented programming in the agent based models perspective 13 3.1 Memory ...
Manuscript. Torino University, Aug 1, 2003
The main focus of this work is to propose a framework1 to investigate how enterprises arise, beha... more The main focus of this work is to propose a framework1 to investigate how enterprises arise, behave and fall, how they interact and, finally, how we can improve them. The tool that we introduce here to help us in this research effort (our quest for the enterprise) is a large agent ...
Applications of simulation to social sciences. HER0 …, 2000
What is the degree of sophistication that we have to put into the agents in agents based computer... more What is the degree of sophistication that we have to put into the agents in agents based computer simulation models? Should we provide them with a mind? The answer ranges from Axelrod's simplicity principle to the use of full BDI (Beliefs, Intentions, Desires) cognitive agents. To ...
Computing in Economics and Finance. Society for …, Jul 5, 2000
ABSTRACT: With SUM, a Surprising (Un)realistic Market, we are dealing with the micro-foundations ... more ABSTRACT: With SUM, a Surprising (Un)realistic Market, we are dealing with the micro-foundations of a stock market. We avoid any artificially simplified solution about price formation, such as to employ an auctioneer to clear the market; on the contrary, our model produces time series ...
Advances in Computational Economics, 2002
Apri la mente a quel ch'io ti paleso e fermalvi entro; ché non fa scïenza, sanza lo ritenere, ave... more Apri la mente a quel ch'io ti paleso e fermalvi entro; ché non fa scïenza, sanza lo ritenere, avere inteso.
Crowd Dynamics, Volume 3, 2021
A model of interacting agents, following plausible behavioral rules into a world where the Covid-... more A model of interacting agents, following plausible behavioral rules into a world where the Covid-19 epidemic is affecting the actions of everyone. The model works with (i) infected agents categorized as symptomatic or asymptomatic and (ii) the places of contagion specified in a detailed way. The infection transmission is related to three factors: the characteristics of both the infected person and the susceptible one, plus those of the space in which contact occurs. The model includes the structural data of Piedmont, an Italian region, but we can easily calibrate it for other areas. The micro-based structure of the model allows factual, counterfactual, and conditional simulations to investigate both the spontaneous or controlled development of the epidemic. The model is generative of complex epidemic dynamics emerging from the consequences of agents' actions and interactions, with high variability in outcomes and stunning realistic reproduction of the successive contagion waves in the reference region. There is also an inverse generative side of the model, coming from the idea of using genetic algorithms to construct a meta-agent to optimize the vaccine distribution. This agent takes into account groups' characteristics-by age, fragility, work conditions-to minimize the number of symptomatic people.
Journal of Medical Systems, 2020
Agent-based approaches have been known to be appropriate as systems and methods in medical admini... more Agent-based approaches have been known to be appropriate as systems and methods in medical administration in recent years. The increased attention to processes led to the recent growth of Business Process Management discipline, which quite exclusively adopt discrete-event modeling and simulation. This paper proposes a medical agent-oriented decision support system to integrate the achievements from management science, agent-based modeling, and artificial intelligence. In particular, we performed a practical application concerning a hospital emergency department medical system. We adopt the widely used multi-agent programmable modeling environment NetLogo. First, we demonstrated the ability to perform a clear representation of healthcare processes where agents (i.e., patients and hospital staff) operate in a 3D environment. This model allows performing a traditional what-if scenario analysis. Second, we explore how performing intelligent management of patients by applying genetic alg...
Italian Economic Journal, 2017
This paper introduces a macromodel with oligopoly and entry/exit in a framework where individuals... more This paper introduces a macromodel with oligopoly and entry/exit in a framework where individuals are heterogeneous in their budget constraints, since they can be workers, new entrant entrepreneurs, incumbent entrepreneurs or unemployed and may change their status due to a stochastic process, associated to entry and exit. Agents' heterogeneity is explicitly modelled in the aggregate demand, that also accounts for the income distribution. Heterogeneity also plays a relevant role in the process of entry/exit in the goods market, which interacts with the labour market and generates macroeconomic fluctuations. As shown in the agent-based numerical simulation, the model provides a new interpretation of the business cycle and an explanation for the empirical phenomenon of countercyclical mark up.
Sistemi Intelligenti, 2009
Per la prima volta nell'ambito dell'elaborazione della conoscenza, grazie alla simulazi... more Per la prima volta nell'ambito dell'elaborazione della conoscenza, grazie alla simulazione e in particolare alla simulazione ad agenti (in cui parti di codice informatico operano emulando il comportamento di agenti del mondo reale), siamo in grado di costruire modelli che rappresentano veri e propri artefatti di sistemi organizzativi e di più ampi sistemi economici e sociali; artefatti che possono operare in un computer, ponendoci in grado di: a) sperimentare gli effetti di cambiamenti che introduciamo nell'artefatto; b) disporre di una ...
Journal on Policy and Complex Systems, 2015
An important perspective use of agent-based models (ABMs) is that of being employed as tools to s... more An important perspective use of agent-based models (ABMs) is that of being employed as tools to support decision systems in policymaking, in the complex systems framework. Such models can be usefully employed at two different levels: to help in deciding (policymaker level) and to empower the capabilities of people in evaluating the effectiveness of policies (citizen level). Consequently, the class of ABMs for policymaking needs to be both quite simple in its structure and highly sophisticated in its outcomes. The pursuing of simplicity and sophistication can be made more effective by applying network analysis to the emergent results. Actually, in today's world the consequences of choices and decisions and their effects on society, and on its organization, are equally relevant. Considering the agent-based and network techniques together, we have a further important possibility. Since it is easier to have network data (i.e. social network data) than detailed behavioral individual information, we can try to understand the relationships between the dynamic changes of the networks emerging from ABMs and the behavior of the agents. As we understand these connections, we can apply them to actual networks, to try to understand what the behavioral black boxes of real-world agents contain. We propose a simple basic structure where events, scheduled upon time, call upon agents to behave, to modify their context, and to create new structures of links among them. Events are organized as collections of small acts and steps. The metaphor is that of a recipe, i.e. a set of directions with a list of ingredients for making or preparing something, especially food (as defined in the American Heritage dictionary). Technically, recipes are sequences of numerical or alphanumerical codes, reported in vectors, and move from an agent to another determining the events and generating the edges of the emerging networks. A basic code will be shown, useful to manage possible applications in different fields: production, healthcare scenarios, paper co-authorship, opinion spreading, etc.
Sistemi Intelligenti, 2009
In un articolo su «Nature», May et al.(2008) mettono in luce la natura sistemica dei rischi che s... more In un articolo su «Nature», May et al.(2008) mettono in luce la natura sistemica dei rischi che stanno in agguato nei confronti dell'economia mondiale, con analogie di fondo con altri eventi catastrofici relativi agli ecosistemi, alle reti di distribuzione, alla biodiversità. Gli studi cui gli autori (biologi) si riferiscono, risalgono per lo più al 2006 e al 2007. Ora possono essere letti con la necessaria attenzione, dato che gli strumenti di analisi standard della scienza economica si sono mostrati insufficienti ad affrontare la complessità della realtà. ...
Sistemi Intelligenti, 2011
L'economia ha tradizionalmente considerato il sistema dei prezzi come sintesi di tut... more L'economia ha tradizionalmente considerato il sistema dei prezzi come sintesi di tutte le informazioni utili e necessarie. La mano invisibile, un po'ingiustamente attribuita a Smith in una versione ingenua, oppure l'as if di Friedman, contengono lo strumentario correlato: i prezzi segnalano abbondanza e scarsità, gli individui sono ottimizzanti, tutto tende verso l'equilibrio. Nel quadro mancano elementi di una «certa» importanza… dalla dimensione spaziale, alle tecnologie, alle strutture artificiose come la finanza derivata, alla razionalità ...
The main focus of this work is to propose a framework1 to investigate how enterprises arise, beha... more The main focus of this work is to propose a framework1 to investigate how enterprises arise, behave and fall, how they interact and, finally, how we can improve them. The tool that we introduce here to help us in this research effort (our “quest for the enterprise”) is a large agent based simulation framework, able to reproduce in a detailed
An overview of the Large-Scale Multi-Agent Modelling of Massively Multi-Player On-Line Role-Playi... more An overview of the Large-Scale Multi-Agent Modelling of Massively Multi-Player On-Line Role-Playing Games (ModelMMORPG) project financed by the Croatian Science Foundation is provided. ModelMMORPG aimed on studying Massively Multiplayer Online Role- Playing Games (MMORPGs) using a combined computer science Multiagent System (MAS) and a social science Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) methodology. The main results, performed activities, developed software as well as published papers are described and discussed. In the end a critical evaluation of the project is given.
Sistemi intelligenti, 1998
Questa nota è dedicata ad introdurre l'importante libro di Epstein e Axtell (1996) dedicato al mo... more Questa nota è dedicata ad introdurre l'importante libro di Epstein e Axtell (1996) dedicato al modello di simulazione sociale noto come Sugarscape. Seguono due commenti: il primo, a proposito del così detto individualismo metodologico; il secondo, sulla possibilità di definire uno schema robusto per lo sviluppo dei modelli di simulazione fondati su agenti, qual è il caso di Sugarscape. Sarebbero molto gradite repliche ai due commenti: è utile sostenere la discussione su questi temi proprio ora, quando si gettano le basi per un uso più ampio delle tecniche di simulazione "dal basso" o con agenti.
We propose a framework within which to investigate three topics: first, how enterprises and organ... more We propose a framework within which to investigate three topics: first, how enterprises and organizations arise, behave, and fall; second, how they interact; and finally, how we can improve them. The tool that we introduce here to help us in this research effort is a large agent-based simulation framework which is able to reproduce the enterprise context in a detailed way. The basis is an agent based computational experiment on rules and rule emergencenamed AESOP (Agents and Emergencies for Simulating Organizations in Python)-to use actions, agents (acting and deciding people) and the scheduling of events into an agent based framework. Agents may use fixed rules but they can also learn to improve these rules in a changing environment. They can also be modeled so as to be aware of the consequences of their behavior. In the simulator, single agents can also be modeled as neural networks, so that the system appears as a "net of neural networks". Alternatively, it is possible to introduce Bayesian learning processes in our models. The core of the simulator is the capability to reproduce, in detail, the decision making process of organizations, firms and individual agents. The basis of the method is the reconstruction of the investigated phenomenon via the action and interaction of minded or no-minded agents. We can integrate both no-minded agents-agents capable of just performing tasks they are ordered to carry and minded ones-agents capable of taking decisions within the model. 1 Acknowledgment for financial support of the basic framework of this research to the "tocai.it-Tecnologie Orientate alla Conoscienza per Aggregazioni di Imprese in Internet" project, http://www.dis.uniroma1.it/~tocai/index.php, whithin the FIRB (Fondo per gli Investimenti della Ricerca di Base) fund of the Italian Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca.
Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, 1997
The use of agents based models in the field of computational economics is widely spreading. Here ... more The use of agents based models in the field of computational economics is widely spreading. Here we introduce a tool (Cross Target method), useful in building artificial laboratories, for experimenting with learning, selfdeveloped consistency and interaction in artificial worlds of agents, to observe the emergence of rationality and complexity. Two examples of environments created with our technique will be introduced. * This research has been supported by grants from the Italian Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca scientifica e tecnologica, inside the project "Intermediazione finanziaria, funzionamento dei mercati ed economia reale".
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 1993
This paper shows that the effects of the interaction between simple artificial agents in a well d... more This paper shows that the effects of the interaction between simple artificial agents in a well defined economic environments, such as an artificial stock market, are useful to understand microeconomic events. We employ here the connectionist cross-target (CT) method [4] to build artificial neural subjects that make (i) guesses about their own actions and (ii) guesses about the effects of those actions. Each subject, learning and acting, develops the coherence between the two types of guesses. Our artificial interacting agents buy and sell shares, following cyclical behaviour (buying when the price rises and selling when the price diminishes) or developing risk aversion or true anti cyclical strategies. The last complex strategy can emerge from imitation between agents and randomness instead of reason.
Journal of Management & Governance, 2008
With this important book by North and Macal, we go directly to the application side of agent-base... more With this important book by North and Macal, we go directly to the application side of agent-based simulation (finally, we can add as a positive comment). Real-life applications of agent-based simulation technique are still unusual, for a number of reasons, the first of which being ...
We introduce here an application directed to a didactic use, but with interest also for the discu... more We introduce here an application directed to a didactic use, but with interest also for the discussion within the economic discipline, contributing to the spread of the simulation methodologies. One of the characteristics of the model is the explicit use of cognitive competences in the behavior of the producers, according the their learning capabilities. The rationality of the consumers is limited by the possibility of interacting with the producers only within a given distance. The distribution of the producers is differentiated by zones with the ...
1.1 Building models 2 1.2 The uses of simulation 5 1.3 From top to bottom and back again 6 2 Buil... more 1.1 Building models 2 1.2 The uses of simulation 5 1.3 From top to bottom and back again 6 2 Building multi-agent systems 9 2.1 Techniques for constructing agents 10 2.2 The agent's environment 12 3 Object oriented programming in the agent based models perspective 13 3.1 Memory ...
Manuscript. Torino University, Aug 1, 2003
The main focus of this work is to propose a framework1 to investigate how enterprises arise, beha... more The main focus of this work is to propose a framework1 to investigate how enterprises arise, behave and fall, how they interact and, finally, how we can improve them. The tool that we introduce here to help us in this research effort (our quest for the enterprise) is a large agent ...
Applications of simulation to social sciences. HER0 …, 2000
What is the degree of sophistication that we have to put into the agents in agents based computer... more What is the degree of sophistication that we have to put into the agents in agents based computer simulation models? Should we provide them with a mind? The answer ranges from Axelrod's simplicity principle to the use of full BDI (Beliefs, Intentions, Desires) cognitive agents. To ...
Computing in Economics and Finance. Society for …, Jul 5, 2000
ABSTRACT: With SUM, a Surprising (Un)realistic Market, we are dealing with the micro-foundations ... more ABSTRACT: With SUM, a Surprising (Un)realistic Market, we are dealing with the micro-foundations of a stock market. We avoid any artificially simplified solution about price formation, such as to employ an auctioneer to clear the market; on the contrary, our model produces time series ...
Advances in Computational Economics, 2002
Apri la mente a quel ch'io ti paleso e fermalvi entro; ché non fa scïenza, sanza lo ritenere, ave... more Apri la mente a quel ch'io ti paleso e fermalvi entro; ché non fa scïenza, sanza lo ritenere, avere inteso.
Crowd Dynamics, Volume 3, 2021
A model of interacting agents, following plausible behavioral rules into a world where the Covid-... more A model of interacting agents, following plausible behavioral rules into a world where the Covid-19 epidemic is affecting the actions of everyone. The model works with (i) infected agents categorized as symptomatic or asymptomatic and (ii) the places of contagion specified in a detailed way. The infection transmission is related to three factors: the characteristics of both the infected person and the susceptible one, plus those of the space in which contact occurs. The model includes the structural data of Piedmont, an Italian region, but we can easily calibrate it for other areas. The micro-based structure of the model allows factual, counterfactual, and conditional simulations to investigate both the spontaneous or controlled development of the epidemic. The model is generative of complex epidemic dynamics emerging from the consequences of agents' actions and interactions, with high variability in outcomes and stunning realistic reproduction of the successive contagion waves in the reference region. There is also an inverse generative side of the model, coming from the idea of using genetic algorithms to construct a meta-agent to optimize the vaccine distribution. This agent takes into account groups' characteristics-by age, fragility, work conditions-to minimize the number of symptomatic people.
Journal of Medical Systems, 2020
Agent-based approaches have been known to be appropriate as systems and methods in medical admini... more Agent-based approaches have been known to be appropriate as systems and methods in medical administration in recent years. The increased attention to processes led to the recent growth of Business Process Management discipline, which quite exclusively adopt discrete-event modeling and simulation. This paper proposes a medical agent-oriented decision support system to integrate the achievements from management science, agent-based modeling, and artificial intelligence. In particular, we performed a practical application concerning a hospital emergency department medical system. We adopt the widely used multi-agent programmable modeling environment NetLogo. First, we demonstrated the ability to perform a clear representation of healthcare processes where agents (i.e., patients and hospital staff) operate in a 3D environment. This model allows performing a traditional what-if scenario analysis. Second, we explore how performing intelligent management of patients by applying genetic alg...
Italian Economic Journal, 2017
This paper introduces a macromodel with oligopoly and entry/exit in a framework where individuals... more This paper introduces a macromodel with oligopoly and entry/exit in a framework where individuals are heterogeneous in their budget constraints, since they can be workers, new entrant entrepreneurs, incumbent entrepreneurs or unemployed and may change their status due to a stochastic process, associated to entry and exit. Agents' heterogeneity is explicitly modelled in the aggregate demand, that also accounts for the income distribution. Heterogeneity also plays a relevant role in the process of entry/exit in the goods market, which interacts with the labour market and generates macroeconomic fluctuations. As shown in the agent-based numerical simulation, the model provides a new interpretation of the business cycle and an explanation for the empirical phenomenon of countercyclical mark up.
Sistemi Intelligenti, 2009
Per la prima volta nell'ambito dell'elaborazione della conoscenza, grazie alla simulazi... more Per la prima volta nell'ambito dell'elaborazione della conoscenza, grazie alla simulazione e in particolare alla simulazione ad agenti (in cui parti di codice informatico operano emulando il comportamento di agenti del mondo reale), siamo in grado di costruire modelli che rappresentano veri e propri artefatti di sistemi organizzativi e di più ampi sistemi economici e sociali; artefatti che possono operare in un computer, ponendoci in grado di: a) sperimentare gli effetti di cambiamenti che introduciamo nell'artefatto; b) disporre di una ...
Journal on Policy and Complex Systems, 2015
An important perspective use of agent-based models (ABMs) is that of being employed as tools to s... more An important perspective use of agent-based models (ABMs) is that of being employed as tools to support decision systems in policymaking, in the complex systems framework. Such models can be usefully employed at two different levels: to help in deciding (policymaker level) and to empower the capabilities of people in evaluating the effectiveness of policies (citizen level). Consequently, the class of ABMs for policymaking needs to be both quite simple in its structure and highly sophisticated in its outcomes. The pursuing of simplicity and sophistication can be made more effective by applying network analysis to the emergent results. Actually, in today's world the consequences of choices and decisions and their effects on society, and on its organization, are equally relevant. Considering the agent-based and network techniques together, we have a further important possibility. Since it is easier to have network data (i.e. social network data) than detailed behavioral individual information, we can try to understand the relationships between the dynamic changes of the networks emerging from ABMs and the behavior of the agents. As we understand these connections, we can apply them to actual networks, to try to understand what the behavioral black boxes of real-world agents contain. We propose a simple basic structure where events, scheduled upon time, call upon agents to behave, to modify their context, and to create new structures of links among them. Events are organized as collections of small acts and steps. The metaphor is that of a recipe, i.e. a set of directions with a list of ingredients for making or preparing something, especially food (as defined in the American Heritage dictionary). Technically, recipes are sequences of numerical or alphanumerical codes, reported in vectors, and move from an agent to another determining the events and generating the edges of the emerging networks. A basic code will be shown, useful to manage possible applications in different fields: production, healthcare scenarios, paper co-authorship, opinion spreading, etc.
Sistemi Intelligenti, 2009
In un articolo su «Nature», May et al.(2008) mettono in luce la natura sistemica dei rischi che s... more In un articolo su «Nature», May et al.(2008) mettono in luce la natura sistemica dei rischi che stanno in agguato nei confronti dell'economia mondiale, con analogie di fondo con altri eventi catastrofici relativi agli ecosistemi, alle reti di distribuzione, alla biodiversità. Gli studi cui gli autori (biologi) si riferiscono, risalgono per lo più al 2006 e al 2007. Ora possono essere letti con la necessaria attenzione, dato che gli strumenti di analisi standard della scienza economica si sono mostrati insufficienti ad affrontare la complessità della realtà. ...
Sistemi Intelligenti, 2011
L'economia ha tradizionalmente considerato il sistema dei prezzi come sintesi di tut... more L'economia ha tradizionalmente considerato il sistema dei prezzi come sintesi di tutte le informazioni utili e necessarie. La mano invisibile, un po'ingiustamente attribuita a Smith in una versione ingenua, oppure l'as if di Friedman, contengono lo strumentario correlato: i prezzi segnalano abbondanza e scarsità, gli individui sono ottimizzanti, tutto tende verso l'equilibrio. Nel quadro mancano elementi di una «certa» importanza… dalla dimensione spaziale, alle tecnologie, alle strutture artificiose come la finanza derivata, alla razionalità ...