Editorial: Agents and multi-agent systems

Abstract

The agent concept is one of the very few concepts which have been able to cross the borders of scientific disciplines, finding applications not only in computer science and artificial intelligence, but also in biology, economics, engineering, and the social sciences. Thus it is only natural that the research frontiers in this fast growing field develop along interdisciplinary problems. These include the ability of agents to evolve, e.g. through adaptation and learning, but also the emergence of systemic properties which result from the interplay of large numbers of agents, rather than from carefully designed single agent behavior.