Computational Experiments

Xiao Xue, PhD, is a Professor in the School of Software, College of Intelligence and Computing, at Tianjin University. He has authored three academic books and over 50 articles in prestigious international journals including the IEEE Transactions series. He serves as Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Vehicles, International Journal of Crowd Science, and Complex System Modeling and Simulation. Fei-Yue Wang, PhD, is Director of the State Key Laboratory for Management and Control of Complex Systems at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he founded the Intelligent Control and Systems Engineering Center. He is an IEEE Fellow, AAAS Fellow, ASME Fellow, IFAC Fellow, INCOSE Fellow, and Outstanding Scientist of ACM. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of several IEEE Transactions and journals.

• About the Author xvPreface xvii1 Origin and Goal of Computational Experiments 11.1 Complexity Science 11.2 Methodological Framework of Computational Experiments 161.3 Organizational Structure of the Book 251.4 Chapter Summary 312 Computational Experiments for Physical Systems 372.1 The Principle of Similarity and System Modeling 372.2 Simulation Examples and Concepts 462.3 Experimental Theory 582.4 Statistical Methods 662.5 Chapter Summary 723 Computational Experiments for Social Systems 753.1 Social Simulation Method 753.2 Simulation of Social Systems 913.3 Causal Inference 1043.4 A Classic Case of Social Simulation 1113.5 Chapter Summary 1264 Methodological Framework of Computational Experiments 1334.1 Framework of Computational Experiment Method 1334.2 Computational Experiment Platform Architecture 1414.3 Operation Steps of the Experimental Platform 1514.4 Chapter Summary 1685 The First Step — Building an Artificial Society 1715.1 Analysis of Characteristics of Artificial Society 1715.2 The Modeling Framework of Artificial Society 1775.3 The Modeling Framework of Artificial Society 1845.4 Case Study: Intelligent Logistics System 1905.5 Chapter Summary 1996 The Second Step — Constructing the Experimental System 2036.1 From Game Worlds to Virtual Societies 2036.2 Virtual Experiments with Humans Outside the Loop 2116.3 Model Integration of Social Simulators 2146.4 Case Study 2246.5 Chapter Summary 2327 The Third Step—Experimental Design and Generative Explanation 2357.1 Comprehensive Framework of Computational Experiment Design 2367.2 Introduction to Experimental Design Methods 2437.3 Design of Scenario Generation Algorithm 2557.4 Case Study: API Service Market 2657.5 Chapter Summary 2738 The Fourth Step — Experimental Analysis and Causal Inference 2798.1 The Laws of System Complexity 2798.2 Causal Inference Framework of Computational Experiments 2878.3 Causal Inference Layers in Computational Experiments 2988.4 Case Study: Algorithmic Behavior on Internet Platforms 3078.5 Chapter Summary 3179 The Fifth Step — Maturity Evaluation of Computational Experiments 3219.1 Theoretical Foundation of Computational Experiment Validation 3229.2 Model Evaluation Framework in Computational Epidemiology 3329.3 Capability Maturity of Computational Epidemiological Models 3379.4 Case Study of Computational Epidemiological Models 3479.5 Chapter Summary 35610 LLM-Based Agents and Social Simulation 36110.1 The Architecture of LLM-Based Agent 36210.2 Stanford Smallville 37110.3 LLM-Based Agent's Capability Pool 38010.4 Applications of LLM-Based Agent Simulation 39010.5 Chapter Summary 40111 Large Language Model Agents and Workflow 40711.1 Collaboration Framework of AI Agents 40811.2 The Orchestration Methods of Multiagents 42011.3 Automation of Computational Experiments 43011.4 The Challenges of Multiagent Collaboration 43811.5 Chapter Summary 44712 Roadmap of Computational Experiment Method 45112.1 Roadmap of Computational Experiment Method 45112.2 Q1: How to Conduct Computational Modeling of the Real World 45412.3 Q2: How to Conduct Causal Reasoning in a Virtual World 45612.4 Q3: How to Ensure That Experimental Laws Hold in Reality? 46112.5 Traditional Simulation vs. Generative Simulation 46312.6 Chapter Summary 468References 468A Appendix 471Index 511