LLM代理的记性与连接方式共同决定能否达成共识,设计时需协同考虑。
Exploring the Topology and Memory of Consensus: How LLM Agents Agree, Fragment, or Settle When Forming Conventions

- 通过调整记忆深度和网络结构,发现两者交互影响共识进程
- 集中式网络中长记忆加速稳定但导致观点分裂,去中心化则相反
- 高介数桥梁角色易受挫,局部聚类更利于协作,适合研究群体智能
在八个固定16代理拓扑上进行432次联网命名游戏模拟,探究记忆深度与网络结构对共识的影响。结果显示:在去中心化网络中,长记忆延缓达成稳态;而在中心化网络中却加速过程,但加速意味着更快陷入分裂状态而非全局共识,可用于生成分歧意见。进一步发现,中心化网络始终保留更多竞争惯例,其收敛速度对记忆敏感。局部分析显示,高介数中介者面临代理代价,而局部聚集区域的代理协调成功率更高。最后,发现代理人行为可被虚构博弈(Fictitious Play)良好拟合,表明其基于信念而非奖励调整策略。实践启示:记忆深度与通信拓扑应联合设计,不可孤立优化。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
How much should an LLM agent remember, and how should multi-agent systems be connected when trying to reach consensus? We show these two design choices interact in a way that flips the sign of memory's effect on coordination. Across 432 simulation runs of a networked Naming Game on eight fixed 16-agent topologies, we vary memory depth and network structure. Longer memory slows the time to reach steady state in decentralized networks but accelerates it in centralized ones; the same parameter pushes the system in opposite directions depending on topology. Critically, "faster settling" in centralized networks means locking in to a fragmented plateau more quickly, not reaching system-wide consensus, which can be used to generate diverging opinions. We further document a memory-mediated speed-unity trade-off: centralized networks consistently preserve more competing conventions than decentralized networks, but their settling speed depends sharply on memory. At the agent level, within-network analyses show that high-betweenness bridges suffer a brokerage penalty while agents in locally clustered neighborhoods achieve higher coordination success. Finally, in search of analytically tractable generative mechanisms, we find that agents' choices are well captured by Fictitious Play, indicating belief-based rather than reward-based adaptation. The practical implication: memory depth and communication topology should be co-designed, not optimized in isolation.
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