Aintz: A study of emergent properties in a model of ant foraging

In this paper I discuss the notion of multiple levels of emergence, and motivate its usefulness as a conceptual tool. I argue that a multi agent system containing emergent properties can be divided into i) Axiomatic behaviour ii) Emergent behaviour and iii) World rules. I show how to use this division as an informal design tool, when designing and analysing emergent properties. Specifically I discuss where and why to place the axiomatic level, given the goal of the model. Further I present an ant model, called Aintz. I show that the very simple basic behavior of the individual agents cause complicated emergent behaviors of multiple levels. I use the Aintz model to exemplify the notion of multiple levels of emergence