Game theory has found its applications in numerous fields such
as Economics, Social Science, Political Science, Evolutionary Biology.
Game theory is now finding its applications in computer science. The nature
of computing is changing because of success of Internet and the revolution
in Information technology. The advancement in technologies have made it
possible to commoditize the components such as network, computing, storage
and software. In the new paradigm, there are multiple entities (hardware,
software agents, protocols etc.) that work on behalf of different autonomous
bodies (such as a user, a business etc.) and provide services to other
similar entities. Internet has made is possible for many such geographically
distributed antonomous entities to interact with each other and provide
various services. These entities will work for their respective owners
to achieve their individual goals (maximize their individual payoffs),
as opposed to obtaining a system optima (that is socially desirable). This
results in an entirely different paradigm of computing where the "work"
is performed in a completely distributed/decentralized fashion by different
entities where the primary objective of each entity is to maximize
the objective of its owner. Therefore, it is important to study traditional
computer science concepts such as algorithm design, protocols, performance
optimization under a game-theoretic model. This course aims to provide
an basic understanding of various game-theoretic concepts and its application
in different domains. After this course the students should be able to
model many real situation using game-theory and design solutions (mechanisms,
algorithms, protocols etc.) that are robust even in presence of "self-centered"
entities.
Active participation from the class is very important for this course
to be successful. The course content will largely depend on what students
want to learn. I have organized this course in two parts. In
the first part I will teach some important basic concepts in the theory
of cooperative and non-cooperative games alongwith some of their celebrated
applications. In the second part, the students (preferably in gorups of
two) are expected to present a topic (in game theory or its application)
of their choice to the class. The student presentation will form a significant
part of their overall evaluation. The evaluation of the presentation will
be done jointly by me and the students.
Students (in groups of two) are expected to scribe lectures. These notes
will have to be in html format. I will give my comments on the first draft
of the notes based on which the students can revise their notes. After
one or two rounds of revisions, the notes will be publicly posted on the
course web site for other students.
A useful resource for poeple interested in Game Theory. Includes links to lecture notes of courses at other universities. Also included are links to many resources on the web, and movies !!!.