Concept of Agent Society

In the beginning (cf. papers of 1994 or 1996), but also much later, we were using the terms multiagent system, artificial society, and agent society in an interchangeable way, assigning no different meanings to them.

More recently, however, we came to differentiate those terms. We now take them to mean:

• multiagent system: 

  • a general notion, the type of system where agents are the main components;

artificial society:

• • a simulated society, whose simulation is based on a multiagent system;

agent society:

• • a particular type of multiagent system, endowed with certain features that justify their being conceived with the help of sociological notions.