On optimal link creation for facilitation of consensus in social networks

Makan Fardad; Fu Lin; Mihailo R. Jovanovic

doi:10.1109/ACC.2014.6859126

On optimal link creation for facilitation of consensus in social networks

Makan Fardad
, Fu Lin
, Mihailo R. Jovanovic

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

We consider the problem of reaching consensus in a social network of agents described by the DeGroot model. We develop a measure for the efficiency with which consensus is reached, where the measure quantifies the transient behavior of public opinion around the consensus value. We then propose an optimization problem that maximizes consensus-reaching efficiency via the creation of new social links, subject to a total link-creation budget. We employ the alternating direction method of multipliers, an algorithm well-suited to large optimization problems, to find the optimal location and weights of the new links. We demonstrate the utility of our results through an example, where we observe that for a social network described by a regular graph the addition of new links leads to an augmented graph that resembles a small-world network characterized by sparse long-range links.

Original language	English (US)
Title of host publication	2014 American Control Conference, ACC 2014
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages	3790-3795
Number of pages	6
ISBN (Print)	9781479932726
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/ACC.2014.6859126
State	Published - 2014
Event	2014 American Control Conference, ACC 2014 - Portland, OR, United States Duration: Jun 4 2014 → Jun 6 2014

Publication series

Name	Proceedings of the American Control Conference
ISSN (Print)	0743-1619

Other

Other	2014 American Control Conference, ACC 2014
Country/Territory	United States
City	Portland, OR
Period	6/4/14 → 6/6/14

Keywords

Alternating direction method of multipliers
DeGroot model
consensus
opinion dynamics
optimization
small-world networks
social networks
sparsity
stochastic matrices

Publisher link

10.1109/ACC.2014.6859126

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On optimal link creation for facilitation of consensus in social networks. / Fardad, Makan; Lin, Fu; Jovanovic, Mihailo R.
2014 American Control Conference, ACC 2014. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2014. p. 3790-3795 6859126 (Proceedings of the American Control Conference).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Fardad, M, Lin, F & Jovanovic, MR 2014, On optimal link creation for facilitation of consensus in social networks. in 2014 American Control Conference, ACC 2014., 6859126, Proceedings of the American Control Conference, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., pp. 3790-3795, 2014 American Control Conference, ACC 2014, Portland, OR, United States, 6/4/14. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACC.2014.6859126

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abstract = "We consider the problem of reaching consensus in a social network of agents described by the DeGroot model. We develop a measure for the efficiency with which consensus is reached, where the measure quantifies the transient behavior of public opinion around the consensus value. We then propose an optimization problem that maximizes consensus-reaching efficiency via the creation of new social links, subject to a total link-creation budget. We employ the alternating direction method of multipliers, an algorithm well-suited to large optimization problems, to find the optimal location and weights of the new links. We demonstrate the utility of our results through an example, where we observe that for a social network described by a regular graph the addition of new links leads to an augmented graph that resembles a small-world network characterized by sparse long-range links.",

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N2 - We consider the problem of reaching consensus in a social network of agents described by the DeGroot model. We develop a measure for the efficiency with which consensus is reached, where the measure quantifies the transient behavior of public opinion around the consensus value. We then propose an optimization problem that maximizes consensus-reaching efficiency via the creation of new social links, subject to a total link-creation budget. We employ the alternating direction method of multipliers, an algorithm well-suited to large optimization problems, to find the optimal location and weights of the new links. We demonstrate the utility of our results through an example, where we observe that for a social network described by a regular graph the addition of new links leads to an augmented graph that resembles a small-world network characterized by sparse long-range links.

AB - We consider the problem of reaching consensus in a social network of agents described by the DeGroot model. We develop a measure for the efficiency with which consensus is reached, where the measure quantifies the transient behavior of public opinion around the consensus value. We then propose an optimization problem that maximizes consensus-reaching efficiency via the creation of new social links, subject to a total link-creation budget. We employ the alternating direction method of multipliers, an algorithm well-suited to large optimization problems, to find the optimal location and weights of the new links. We demonstrate the utility of our results through an example, where we observe that for a social network described by a regular graph the addition of new links leads to an augmented graph that resembles a small-world network characterized by sparse long-range links.

KW - Alternating direction method of multipliers

KW - DeGroot model

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KW - opinion dynamics

KW - optimization

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KW - social networks

KW - sparsity

KW - stochastic matrices

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On optimal link creation for facilitation of consensus in social networks

Abstract

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Keywords

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