Stigmergy applied in Sensorica

Sensorica uses a mix of stigmergy and agile planning for organizing productive activity.

See more on Stigmergy

Current implementation

Working definition: Stigmergy is the use of the (digital) environment to leave signals / instructions that lead to possible actions.

The environment is a Google Doc example. We can also call this the territory of exploration. The content in the Google doc is a capture of all the exploration already done by affiliates to reach a set of shared goals. It details, in a structured manner, what has been done, i.e. documentation of work done.

Affiliates use a set of icons to signal to other affiliates what they could do. There are a few types of icons that symbolize a to-do, notes, important information, decision / choice, etc. We call these signals digital pheromones. They can be found on the left margin of the page. The icons are places within a table, the middle column is used to write the specifications of the pheromone, containing instructions.

Anyone can create a pheromone in the text. Anyone can react / respond to a pheromone, which means following the instructions associated with it.

The general practice is that agents explore different action venues to reach the shared goals. Some of these activities may lead to potentially good outcomes. They can place a pheromone signaling that potential to other affiliates that contribute to the work and may build on these previous activities.

Pheromones architecture

Objective: Generalize pheromone creation and use.

Some general considerations

Are pheromones purely signaling or they can also have a transactional component?

Pheromones have an instructional component. Their primary role is to induce a specific action, generate a specific behavior.

Modeling

Pheromones can be modeled as objects with properties. some identified properties are:

• Intensity: pheromones have a value that sets their intensity, which gives an idea about the importance or priority level of instructions that they contain. Intensity is a property of the pheromone but can also be related to sensitivity, which is a property of a role, which can be energized by an affiliate.
• Visibility / Sensing: pheromones can become visible or not, or their intensity can be modulated depending on the type of agent that may encounter it. In other words, at the UI level, some affiliates that sign up in a specific role might not see a given type of pheromone, or it can be that the sensitivity of this role is high, therefore the perceived intensity is high.

Evolution of pheromones (emergence of the pheromones itself) Incentives: people are not ants, programmed to react to pheromones, we need incentives to produce a behavior. Implementation tool for pheromones: tokens. Tokens are not the pheromone, they add a reward mechanism to pheromones. Their value increases based on successful interaction. Another implementation would be staking, people that are staking can be rewarded, if the lead ends up being productive. This incentivises people to contribute to pheromones, signaling towards some target. [predictive market have this function]. Perhaps one solution is that people that are staking and amplifying the intensity of a pheromone MUST do some work. ERC1155 token: NFT + fungible tokens might be a tool to explore for implementation. Notifications: Publish subscribe framework on markup - drop a tag in the doc, and others can subscribe to it, subscribing to pheromones, notifications attached to pheromones, categories of pheromones, perhaps also based on roles, field of work. Sensing: Subsistence: perishable pheromones, weaken the level of signaling. Some pheromones speak to more stable patterns, high-level patterns, they might be able to subsist longer term.

Pheromones must be lightweight, low cost, and should not need effort to engage in the “pheromone economy”.

Pheromones and commitment? Dropping a pheromone requires a commitment?

Also the idea that dropping a pheromone requires validation (those who have left a pheromone have something real to show), requires some validated work (did that and I attest that there is a there there)

Close the loop, enforce or add pheromones to a trace only when there is real merit. Connection with incentives.

Ontology of pheromones - emergent, evolved for adaptive capacity and survival.

Choice 1: Declaring pheromones, not so good Choice 2: Perhaps pheromone is an object, but the actual content is filled in, with characteristics and wanted behavior. Pheromone type. Intensity (how many people will get a notification for example). Visibility as a feature. Presence or is it perceivable and to what degree / level.

What if the environment/landscape learns how to place pheromones? Balance agency (human-centric) with efficiency. Agents can be humans of digital artifacts. What would be the effects of that, if some of the signaling is algorithmically-driven? Niche construction: key concept, a species does not evolve by itself, it co-evolve with the niche. Synergy, coevolution.

Connect to action theory. Pheromones are about signaling for action. An opinion is not enough, such as a like button.