Unpredictable dynamics in congestion games: memory loss can prevent chaos
Jakub Bielawski, Thiparat Chotibut, Fryderyk Falniowski, Michal, Misiurewicz, Georgios Piliouras

TL;DR
This paper investigates how memory loss influences the complex dynamics of congestion games, showing that increased memory loss can stabilize the system and reduce chaos, with bifurcation phenomena depending on key parameters.
Contribution
It introduces a simple congestion game model with EWA dynamics, revealing how memory loss affects stability and chaos, and provides a detailed bifurcation analysis.
Findings
Memory loss can prevent chaos and stabilize dynamics.
High intensity of choice leads to destabilization and chaos.
Increasing memory loss simplifies dynamics, leading to predictable periodic orbits.
Abstract
We study the dynamics of simple congestion games with two resources where a continuum of agents behaves according to a version of Experience-Weighted Attraction (EWA) algorithm. The dynamics is characterized by two parameters: the (population) intensity of choice capturing the economic rationality of the total population of agents and a discount factor capturing a type of memory loss where past outcomes matter exponentially less than the recent ones. Finally, our system adds a third parameter , which captures the asymmetry of the cost functions of the two resources. It is the proportion of the agents using the first resource at Nash equilibrium, with capturing a symmetric network. Within this simple framework, we show a plethora of bifurcation phenomena where behavioral dynamics destabilize from global convergence to equilibrium, to limit…
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Taxonomy
TopicsOpinion Dynamics and Social Influence · Complex Systems and Time Series Analysis · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
