Whether group size will increase the speed of cumulative innovation within open-ended fitness landscape is opened for debate. Additionally, since most of the models were simplified to increase internal validity, it is difficult to measure how much that model fits with the real world (external validity). However, considering that there might be a correlation between an increase in group size and the speed of technological development in recent century within the real world, group size might act as a driver in open-ended fitness landscape. This paper aims to address this issue using computer simulation.
In the simulation below, we modified the simulation by Arthur and Polak (2006) so that the simulation becomes similar to agent-based simulation. Agents created logical circuits that could be used in the later trial. We added conditions where agents were able to use circuits built by other agents. This simulation is useful because the environment is open-ended and also the task is close to a task in real-life. Additionally, they differentiated innovation between invention (new innovation that serves a purpose that never was used before) and improvement (already made innovation but is more efficient) which could be useful if the two innovations evolve differently. Also in the following simulation, agents in the same trial did not interact with one another that could create a synergetic interaction just as in Henrich (2004) for simplicity.