Redistribution Systems and PRAM
This work addresses the integration of agent-based and probabilistic models for researchers in computational modeling, though it appears incremental as it builds on existing themes like probabilistic relational models.
The paper tackles the problem of integrating agent-based and probabilistic models by introducing PRAM, a framework that reformulates agent-based models as redistribution systems, resulting in a sound probabilistic foundation for such models.
Redistribution systems iteratively redistribute mass between groups under the control of rules. PRAM is a framework for building redistribution systems. We discuss the relationships between redistribution systems, agent-based systems, compartmental models and Bayesian models. PRAM puts agent-based models on a sound probabilistic footing by reformulating them as redistribution systems. This provides a basis for integrating agent-based and probabilistic models. \pram/ extends the themes of probabilistic relational models and lifted inference to incorporate dynamical models and simulation. We illustrate PRAM with an epidemiological example.