Dynamics at the Boundary of Game Theory and Distributed Computing

TL;DR

This paper explores the intersection of game theory and distributed computing, revealing non-convergence in asynchronous dynamics and analyzing the complexity of testing convergence in decentralized systems.

Contribution

It introduces a general non-convergence result for asynchronous dynamics and examines the complexity of convergence testing across various applications.

Findings

Non-convergence in asynchronous dynamics for a broad class of systems

Complexity results for testing convergence in distributed environments

Implications for game dynamics, social networks, and internet routing

Abstract

We use ideas from distributed computing and game theory to study dynamic and decentralized environments in which computational nodes, or decision makers, interact strategically and with limited information. In such environments, which arise in many real-world settings, the participants act as both economic and computational entities. We exhibit a general non-convergence result for a broad class of dynamics in asynchronous settings. We consider implications of our result across a wide variety of interesting and timely applications: game dynamics, circuit design, social networks, Internet routing, and congestion control. We also study the computational and communication complexity of testing the convergence of asynchronous dynamics. Our work opens a new avenue for research at the intersection of distributed computing and game theory.