Social Decision-Makers Beat the “Homo Economicus” By Dirk Helbing The Internet and Social Media change our way of decision-making. We are no longer the independent decision makers we used to be. Instead, we have become networked minds, social decision-makers, more than ever before. This has several fundamental implications. First of all, our economic theories must […]

The Idea of Semi-Permeable Agents By Greg Fisher A couple of months ago I attended a fascinating workshop organised by my colleagues David Hales, Jeff Johnson and Jerey Pitt, on the subject of ‘agents’ and ‘agency’ within the context of complex systems and computer simulations.  The discussion was excellent in part because of its content […]

Opportunities and Risks of the Information Age by Dirk Helbing (ETH Zurich) “You’re already a walking sensor platform… You are aware of the fact that somebody can know where you are at all times because you carry a mobile device, even if that mobile device is turned off. You know this, I hope? Yes? Well, you […]

By Greg Fisher Last week the European Commission chose not to invest in FuturICT, which was a massively ambitious project to integrate ICT and complexity science.  The aim was, as their website puts it, “understand and manage complex, global, socially interactive systems” and in so doing to “create a paradigm shift”. Driven mainly by ETH […]

By Paul Ormerod Andrew Mitchell, the Government Chief Whip, remains in some difficulty after his exchange with the police at the gates of Downing Street.  At the heart of the incident, there is an objective reality.  Either he used the word pleb, or he didn’t.  Either the police were officious jobsworths, or they were the […]