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A Note on Working Memory in Agent Learning

In: Formal Modelling in Electronic Commerce

Author

Listed:
  • Fang Zhong

    (Georgia Institute of Technology)

Abstract

An important dimension of system and mechanism design, working memory, has been paid insufficient attention by scholars. Existing literature reports mixed findings on the effects of the amount of working memory on system efficiency. In this note, we investigate this relationship with a computational approach. We design an intelligent agent system in which three agents, one buyer and two bidders, play an Exchange Game repeatedly. The buyer agent decides whether to list a request for proposal, while the bidders bid for it independently. Only one bidder can win on a given round of play. Once the winning bidder is chosen by the buyer, a transaction takes place. The two parties of the trade can either cooperate or defect at this point. The decisions are made simultaneously and the payoffs essentially follow the Prisoner’s Dilemma game. We find that the relationship between working memory and the efficiency of the system has an inverted U-shape, i.e., there seems to be an optimal memory size. When we mixed agents with different memory sizes together, agents with the same amount of working memory generate the most efficient outcome in terms of total payoffs.

Suggested Citation

  • Fang Zhong, 2005. "A Note on Working Memory in Agent Learning," International Handbooks on Information Systems, in: Steven O. Kimbrough & D.J. Wu (ed.), Formal Modelling in Electronic Commerce, pages 493-507, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ihichp:978-3-540-26989-2_20
    DOI: 10.1007/3-540-26989-4_20
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