Computational-mechanism design: a call to arms

Abstract

Computational-mechanism design has an important role to play in developing complex distributed systems comprising multiple interacting agents. Game theory has developed powerful tools for analyzing, predicting, and controlling the behavior of self-interested agents and decision making in systems with multiple autonomous actors. These tools, when tailored to computational settings, provide a foundation for building multiagent software systems. This tailoring gives rise to the field of computational-mechanism design, which applies economic principles to computer systems design.