Stigmergy

Indirect, emergent coordination through the environment. Self-organisation without direct communication, or central authority. Supports efficient collaboration between simple agents.

Contingent on a shared medium or environment. The work or change provides a stimulus, enticing/attracting other agents to continue the job. Rate of activity acts as a signal attracting attention.

Originally about termites, via French biologist Pierre-Paul Grassé.

Think about how digital traces (e.g., edits, comments, likes) guide collective action in contemporary media environments. Future systems could use machine learning and generative models to enhance these traces, making them more informative and context-aware, e.g. by highlighting relevant contributions in a collaborative document, suggesting connections and next steps based on the project’s history and goals.

• [?] What are the fundamental principles that govern stigmergic interactions across different domains?
• [?] What are the advantages and limitations of stigmergic coordination compared to other approaches, such as planning or direct communication?
• [?] What are the potential applications of stigmergy in designing decentralised algorithms or decision-making processes?
• [&] See also: trace ethnography, distributed cognition?

Backlinks

: Trace ethnography