Article in Wired today: “New Tack Wins Prisoner’s Dilemma.” Looks like Southampton took the annual PD Competition with sheer numbers – and a cool little strategy. The game goes like this:
[T]wo accomplices are arrested and separated for interrogation by the police, who give each the same choice: confess to authorities (defect) or remain silent (cooperate). If one defects and the other cooperates, the defector walks free and the cooperator gets 10 years in jail. If both cooperate, both get six months. If both defect, both get six years. Neither suspect knows the other’s choice.
Southampton submitted 60 player programs (within the competition rules: an entrant is allowed to submit many entries) designed to recognize each other when they are pitted against each other. Upon recognition, one of them would deliberately “sacrifice” itself to maximize the other’s winnings. As a result, Southampton’s players took the top three spots on the winnings roster. It’s all about research!, they say. That, and a fun way to start my morning. :)
I remember “Tit-for-Tat” from Piers Anthony’s Golem in the Gears (Xanth 8). … Not going anywhere with that, just sayin’. =)