Explaining Agent Behavior in Agent-Based Modeling Using Subgroup Discovery

Agent-based modeling (ABM) is a popular tool for simulating complex systems. In addition to the key performance indicators ABM provides as main outputs of the modeling process, it also generates valuable information about the agents' roadmap, but the large volume of generated data is difficult to analyze and understand. Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) techniques can improve the transparency and interpretability of these models. Subgroup Discovery (SD) is a useful tool for XAI that can facilitate the analysis of the data with respect to a variable of interest. In this contribution, we propose a methodology for applying SD to ABM for extracting useful knowledge of agents behavior from the model output. We compare the performance of different SD algorithms and show the effectiveness of our methodology through a case study in the marketing area. We analyze the obtained set of rules from the point of view of a marketing expert. The results show that our methodology can provide a deeper understanding of consumer behavior and market dynamics, providing potential areas of opportunity for marketers