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<TITLE>Complex Social Systems, M.Sc. in Cognitive Science</TITLE>
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Complex Social Systems (formerly Social Intelligence)<BR>
(<A HREF="http://www.cognitivescience-postgrad.phs.uoa.gr/">M.Sc. in Cognitive Science, University of Athens</A>)
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<LI><A HREF="#Objectives">Objectives</A>
<LI><A HREF="#Syllabus">Syllabus</A>
<LI><A HREF="#Material">Course material</A>
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<LI><A HREF="../CourseSoc/">Latest offering</A> <IMG SRC="../Images/flag_gr.gif">
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<A NAME="Objectives">
<H2>Objectives</H2>
The objective of the course is to familiarise students on the one hand with the fundamental
approaches, methodologies and techniques involved in the synthesis and the design of
intelligent individuals that exist and act within a social group, and on the other hand
with the collective, emergent intelligence of the social group itself.
All the major distributed/collective approaches are surveyed: distributed AI, decentralized
AI, multi-agent systems, artificial life, social simulation, complex systems. The investigated
systems and models span a broad range of phenomena: biological, social, economic,
communicative, evolutionary, human group models, social structure models, such as norms or
regulations, etc. Besides essays and assignments, the students have to carry out
substantial experimental work with real systems and models related to synthesis, simulation
and experimental analysis of computational social systems (agent-based or network-based).

<H3>Instructor</H3>
<PRE>
	<B>Elpida Tzafestas</B>
	Associate Professor
	Cognitive Science Laboratory
	Department of History and Philosophy of Science (M.I.Th.E.)
	National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
	University Campus, Ano Ilisia 15771 Athens
	GREECE
	Tel. (+30) 210-727 5522,
	     (+30) 210-727 5506
	Fax. (+30) 210-727 5530

	<IMG ALIGN=MIDDLE SRC="../Images/mail.gif"> <A HREF="mailto:etzafestas@phs.uoa.gr"><EM>etzafestas@phs.uoa.gr</EM></A>
	<IMG ALIGN=MIDDLE SRC="../Images/www2.gif"> <A HREF="http://users.softlab.ntua.gr/~brensham"><EM>http://users.softlab.ntua.gr/~brensham</EM></A>
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<A NAME="Syllabus">
<H2>Syllabus</H2>
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<LI><B>Introduction</B>
<LI><B>Distributed and decentralized AI</B>
<LI><B>Sociobiology and artificial life</B>
<LI><B>Social networks</B>
<LI><B>Games</B>
<LI><B>Social cognition</B>
<LI><B>Communication and language</B>
<LI><B>Culture</B>
<LI><B>Economies</B>
<LI><B>Politics and religion</B>
<LI><B>Unifying approaches</B>
<LI><B>Agent-based simulation</B>
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<A NAME="Material">
<H2>Course material</H2>
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<LI>Lecture slides
<LI>Readings (papers and chapters)
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<LI><A HREF="Readings.html">Fundamental readings</A><BR>
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<LI>Lab material (code and short tutorials)
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<H2>Practical assignments (indicative)</H2>
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<LI>Social vehicles
<LI>Two-player games
<LI>Cultural modelling
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Snapshot:
<A HREF="SocWorldPlatform.jpg"><IMG SRC="SocWorldPlatform.jpg" WIDTH=180 HEIGHT=126
ALIGN=CENTER></A>
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<EM>Page last updated 09 March 2012</EM><BR>
<A HREF="mailto:etzafestas@phs.uoa.gr">
<EM>Send me mail (etzafestas@phs.uoa.gr)</EM></A><BR><BR>

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