MAS Emergence Safety
Reference
- Altmann, P., Schönberger, J., Illium, S., et al. 2024. Emergence in Multi-agent Systems: A Safety Perspective. International Symposium on Leveraging Applications of Formal Methods, Springer Nature Switzerland Cham, 104–120.
Multi-Agent Systems (MAS), particularly those employing decentralized decision-making based on local information (common in MARL), can exhibit emergent effects. These phenomena, arising from complex interactions, range from minor behavioral quirks to potentially catastrophic system failures, posing significant safety challenges.
This research provides a framework for understanding and mitigating undesirable emergence from a safety perspective. We propose a formal definition: emergent effects arise from misalignments between the global inherent specification (the intended overall system goal or behavior) and its local approximation used by individual agents (e.g., distinct reward components, limited observations).
Leveraging established concepts from system safety engineering, we analyze how such misalignments can lead to deviations from intended global behavior. To illustrate the practical implications, we examine two highly configurable gridworld scenarios. These demonstrate how inadequate or independently derived local specifications (rewards/observations) can predictably result in unintended emergent behaviors, such as resource hoarding or inefficient coordination.
Recognizing that achieving a perfectly aligned global specification might be impractical in complex systems, we propose strategies focused on adjusting the underlying local parameterizations (e.g., reward shaping, observation design) to mitigate harmful emergence. By carefully tuning these local components, system alignment can be improved, reducing the risk of emergent failures and enhancing overall safety. [Altmann et al. 2024]
