Dynamic Homophily with Imperfect Recall: Modeling Resilience in Adversarial Networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new framework integrating memory decay into homophily models, demonstrating that strategic forgetting enhances network resilience against adversarial disruptions across various graph structures.

Contribution

It develops a novel model combining memory decay with homophily, systematically evaluating its impact on network resilience under adversarial conditions.

Findings

Cosine similarity improves stability by up to 30% in sparse networks.

Strategic forgetting balances robustness and adaptability.

Memory-homophily alignment enhances resilience in adversarial settings.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate how homophily, memory constraints, and adversarial disruptions collectively shape the resilience and adaptability of complex networks. To achieve this, we develop a new framework that integrates explicit memory decay mechanisms into homophily-based models and systematically evaluate their performance across diverse graph structures and adversarial settings. Our methods involve extensive experimentation on synthetic datasets, where we vary decay functions, reconnection probabilities, and similarity measures, primarily comparing cosine similarity with traditional metrics such as Jaccard similarity and baseline edge weights. The results show that cosine similarity achieves up to a 30\% improvement in stability metrics in sparse, convex, and modular networks. Moreover, the refined value-of-recall metric demonstrates that strategic forgetting can bolster resilience by balancing network robustness and adaptability. The findings underscore the critical importance of aligning memory and similarity parameters with the structural and adversarial dynamics of the network. By quantifying the tangible benefits of incorporating memory constraints into homophily-based analyses, this study offers actionable insights for optimizing real-world applications, including social systems, collaborative platforms, and cybersecurity contexts.