Should we share or protect AI agent discoveries?
To Stand on the Shoulders of Giants: Should We Protect Initial Discoveries in Multi-Agent Exploration?
This paper explores whether protecting initial discoveries in multi-agent exploration (like patenting in R&D) is beneficial. It uses a game where agents search for treasures (representing discoveries) with varying costs. Protecting initial discoveries allows only the discoverer to exploit related subsequent discoveries.
For LLM-based multi-agent systems, the key finding is that while protection can improve coordination by reducing redundant work on subsequent discoveries, it may stifle overall innovation by discouraging exploration of those discoveries. This suggests alternative mechanisms, like sharing information on failed exploration attempts, could be more beneficial than strict protection. The behavioral finding that agents underweight rare but high-value initial discoveries, similar to human behavior, also highlights the challenge of incentivizing risky, initial exploration in multi-agent LLM systems.