Agent-Based Modelling as a Foundation for Big Data

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Chen, Shu-Heng and Venkatachalam, Ragupathy. 2017. Agent-Based Modelling as a Foundation for Big Data. Journal of Economic Methodology, 24(4), pp. 362-383. ISSN 1350-178X [Article]

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Official URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1350178...

Abstract or Description

In this article we propose a process-based definition of big data, as opposed to the size - and technology-based definitions. We argue that big data should be perceived as a continu- ous, unstructured and unprocessed dynamics of primitives, rather than as points (snapshots) or summaries (aggregates) of an underlying phenomenon. Given this, we show that big data can be generated through agent-based models but not by equation-based models. Though statistical and machine learning tools can be used to analyse big data, they do not constitute a big data-generation mechanism. Furthermore, agent-based models can aid in evaluating the quality (interpreted as information aggregation efficiency) of big data. Based on this, we argue that agent-based modelling can serve as a possible foundation for big data. We substantiate this interpretation through some pioneering studies from the 1980s on swarm intelligence and several prototypical agent-based models developed around the 2000s.

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Article

Identification Number (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1080/1350178X.2017.1388964