Emergence of Scale-Free Networks in Social Interactions among Large Language Models

中文速览

大型语言模型驱动的多个智能体能否像人类一样通过互动自发形成复杂的社交网络，是这项研究要回答的问题。研究者用 GPT-3.5-turbo 充当生成式智能体，让新加入的“用户”根据其他用户的连接数选择关注对象，并反复扩展网络，同时通过随机改名检验模型对名称的词元偏好。结果显示，智能体在看到连接数且消除名称偏差后，会形成具有幂律度分布的无标度网络（scale-free network），表现出类似人类网络的线性择优连接；若隐藏连接数则更接近随机网络，而保留名称偏好时则会异常集中成少数超级中心。研究说明，LLM 不仅能模仿个体语言行为，也可能在群体互动中产生社会层面的涌现现象，但模型自身的词元偏见会扭曲结果，这为用 LLM 构建社会仿真和评估 AI 社交系统提供了重要提醒。

摘要

Scale-free networks are one of the most famous examples of emergent behavior and are ubiquitous in social systems, especially online social media in which users can follow each other. By analyzing the interactions of multiple generative agents using GPT3.5-turbo as a language model, we demonstrate their ability to not only mimic individual human linguistic behavior but also exhibit collective phenomena intrinsic to human societies, in particular the emergence of scale-free networks. We discovered that this process is disrupted by a skewed token prior distribution of GPT3.5-turbo, which can lead to networks with extreme centralization as a kind of alignment. We show how renaming agents removes these token priors and allows the model to generate a range of networks from random networks to more realistic scale-free networks.

术语表

scale-free networks

无标度网络

emergent behavior

涌现行为

generative agents

生成式智能体

GPT-3.5-turbo

GPT-3.5-turbo

Large Language Models (LLMs)

大型语言模型（LLM）

Generative AI (GenAI)

生成式人工智能（GenAI）

Deep Learning

深度学习

complex networks

复杂网络

emergent properties

涌现性质

degree distribution

度分布

scale-free degree distribution

无标度度分布

Barabasi-Albert model

Barabasi-Albert模型

preferential attachment

优先连接

network growth model

网络增长模型

network topology

网络拓扑结构

hub-and-spoke topology

中心—辐射式拓扑结构

token prior distribution

词元先验分布

alignment

对齐

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

人工智能（AI）

online social networks

在线社交网络

agent-based models

基于智能体的模型

information diffusion

信息扩散

coordination

协同

epidemic spreading

流行病传播

OpenAI API

OpenAI API

complementary cumulative distribution function (CCDF)

互补累积分布函数（CCDF）

node degree

节点度

emergent collective behavior

涌现集体行为