학술논문

Applying causal inference to understand emergent behavior
Document Type
Conference
Source
2008 Winter Simulation Conference Simulation Conference, 2008. WSC 2008. Winter. :712-721 Dec, 2008
Subject
Computing and Processing
Debugging
Computational modeling
Testing
Probability distribution
Adaptation model
Research initiatives
Computer science
Computer simulation
Computer errors
Process control
Language
ISSN
0891-7736
1558-4305
Abstract
Emergent behaviors in simulations require explanation, so that valid behaviors can be separated from design or coding errors. Validation of emergent behavior requires accumulation of insight into the behavior and the conditions under which it arises. Previously, we have introduced an approach, Explanation Exploration (EE), to gather insight into emergent behaviors using semi-automatic model adaptation. We improve our previous work by iteratively applying causal inference procedures to samples gathered from the semi-automatic model adaptation. Iterative application of causal inference procedures reveals the interactions of identified abstractions within the model that cause the emergent behavior. Uncovering these interactions gives the subject matter expert new insight into the emergent behavior and facilitates the validation process.