The Evolution of Cooperation – When and How to Cooperate
The Evolution of Cooperation
When and How to Cooperate
Created by Luis Ibanez / @luisibanez
The Book
by Robert Axelrod, 1984
Oh hey, these are some notes. They'll be hidden in your presentation, but you can see them if you open the speaker notes window (hit 's' on your keyboard).The Question:
“ Under what conditions will cooperation emerge in a world of egoists without central authority? ”The Prisoner's Dilemma
Communication
“ The players can communicate with each other only through the sequence of their own behavior. ”Litte Less Conversation
“ Words no backed by actions are so cheap as to be meaningless. ”Forgiveness
“ ...even strategists do not give sufficient weight to the importance of forgiveness. ”Self-Defeating
“ Not being nice may look promising at first, but in the long run it can destroy the very environment it needs for its own success. ”TIT FOR TAT
- Nice
- Retaliatory
- Forgiving
- Clear
The Shadow
“ No one can do better using any strategy providing that the future casts a large enough shadow onto the present. ”For How Long...
“ If the other player is unlikely to be around much longer, the shadow of the future falls and reciprocity is no longer stable. ”Invasion
“ If the newcomers arrive in small clusters, they will have a chance to get cooperation started. ”Emergence
“ So mutual cooperation can emerge in a world of egoists without central control by starting with a cluster of individuals who rely on reciprocity. ”World War I
“ We are very sorry about that; we hope no one was hurt. It is not our fault, it is that damned Prussian Artillery! ”Brainless
“An organism does not need a brain to employ a strategy. ”We'll meet again
“ When the probability of meeting each other again is sufficiently high, cooperation based on reciprocity can thrive. ”Foresight
“ While foresight is not necessary for the evolution of cooperation it can certainly be helpful. ”The Rules
Rule #1
Don't be envious
Test
Could someone else
have done better
with this other player?
Never "Win"
TIT FOR TAT
never scores better
than the other player
Rule #2
Don't be the first to defect
Rule #3
Reciprocate both
cooperation and defection
Rule #4
Don't be too clever
Complexity
“ Too much complexity can appear to be total chaos. ”Complexity
“ Being so complex as to be incomprehensible is very dangerous. ”Unresponsive
“ If you are unresponsive, then the other player has no incentive to cooperate with you. ”Iterations
“ An important way to promote cooperation is to arrange that the same individuals will meet each other again. ”The Shadow
“ Mutual cooperation can be stable if the future is sufficiently important relative to the present. ”Enlarging the Shadow
Making the interactions
- More Durable
- More Frequent
Reputation & Deterrence
A player's reputation
is embodied in the belief of others
about the strategy
that this player will use.
Help Me
You have to get the other player to help
even though the other player
is better off in the short run
by not helping.
Strenght of a Few
Cooperation can emerge
from small clusters of cooperating individuals
as long as they have a small portion
of their interactions with each other.
TIT FOR TAT
- Nice
- Retaliatory
- Forgiving
- Clear
Niceness
Never be the first to defect.
Niceness
Prevents it from getting into
unnecessary trouble.
Retaliation
Discourages the other side
from persisting
whenever defection is tried
Retaliation
Prevents Abuse
Forgiveness
Helps restore mutual cooperation.
Clarity
Makes its behavioral pattern
easy to recognize.
Clarity
Makes easy to perceive
that the best way
to deal with it
is to cooperate.
Reciprocity
Becomes self-reinforcing
Reciprocity
Once it gets going,
it gets stronger and stronger.