Ideal, Best, and Emerging Practices in Creating Artificial Societies

Artificial societies used to guide and evaluate policies should be built by following “best practices”. However, this goal may be challenged by the complexity of artificial societies and the interdependence of their sub-systems (e.g., built environment, social norms). We created a list of seven practices based on simulation methods, specific aspects of quantitative individual models, and data-driven modeling. By evaluating published models for public health with respect to these ideal practices, we noted significant gaps between current and ideal practices on key items such as replicability and uncertainty. We outlined opportunities to address such gaps, such as integrative models and advances in the computational machinery used to build simulations.