Gert Jan Hofstede,

Wageningen Universiteit –

Abstract:

Gert Jan will discuss ‘artificial sociality’, the subject for which he was recently appointed professor. It is about foundational conceptual models of human sociality based on social science, for use in agent-based models of complex systems in the life sciences. Artificial sociality involves two main components: designing individual minds, including emotions and underlying social motives, and modelling self-organization of behaviour at the level of the social system. A special focus rests on safety and resilience in socio-‘something’ systems in which human components are replaced by technical ones.

Bio

Gert Jan Hofstede (1956) graduated as a population biologist in Wageningen, then went on to become a computer programmer. He returned to academia, and did a PhD in production planning (1992). During that time, Gert Jan became convinced that in complex systems, the human element is often understudied. He worked on simulation gaming, on trust and transparency in supply chains, and during the last decade, on social simulation. His current interest is in using agent-based models for capturing the relational side of complex socio-technical or socio-ecological systems, like, for instance, industrial safety or disease control in potato culture. He is a personal professor at the Information Technology group of Wageningen University, and founder of the Silico centre at that university.

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