Machiavelli in Hell

Opponent Modeling in Machiavelli

Opponent modeling is a technique in computer game-playing which attempts to create a model of an opponent’s strategy. This model can then be used to predict the opponent’s future actions. This paper attempts to apply opponent modeling to the commercial card game Machiavelli, a game containing imperfect information. Neural networks are used to build the models. These neural networks are trained ...

Machiavelli and the liberalism of fear

This article revisits the long-standing question of the relations between ethics and politics in Machiavelli's work, assessing its relevance to the 'liberalism of fear' in particular in the work of Judith Shklar, Bernard Williams and also John Dunn. The article considers ways in which Machiavelli has been a 'negative' resource for liberalism - for instance, as a presumed proponent of tyranny; b...

Spreadsheet Hell

This management paper looks at the real world issues faced by practitioners managing spreadsheets through the production phase of their life cycle. It draws on the commercial experience of several developers working with large corporations, either as employees or consultants or contractors. It provides commercial examples of some of the practicalities involved with spreadsheet use around the en...

Dolev-Yao is no better than Machiavelli

WEB TECHNOLOGIES Agent Hell

It was a pleasant, warm evening. Franco found a soft grassy area in the park, and sat down. He took a packed ball of spaghetti from his left pocket and an open beer from the right. He ate, drank, and rested quietly in the fading light of a beautiful Spring evening. It wasn’t a night to spend with the Salvation Army, he thought, as he watched the darkening sky. “Please stand up and report to the...