This is the website of the Computational Social Choice (COMSOC) course taught by Ulle Endriss at the ILLC in Amsterdam. The field of computational social choice is concerned with the design and analysis of mechanisms for collective decision making. The course provides a thorough introduction to both classical social choice theory, originating in Economics and Political Science, and modern computational social choice, emphasising its interface with Computer Science and AI. The intention is to enable students to conduct independent research in this exciting and fast-moving field. The exact list of topics covered changes every time the course is offered.
This is an advanced, research-oriented course in the Master of Logic that is also listed as an elective for the MSc AI and the MSc Computational Science. Students from other programmes, such as Computer Science, Mathematics, Economics, or Philosophy, are equally welcome (contact me if you are unsure about your qualifications). Everyone taking the course is expected to have what is sometimes called mathematical maturity. I advise against taking this course in your first year (you'll get much more out of it if you take it later). I strongly recommend taking Game Theory first. If you want to specialise in this area, good courses to combine this one with include Algorithmic Game Theory and the Seminar Economics and Computation (not offered in 2024/25).
Follow this link to go to the 2024 edition of the course.
Links to previous editions of the course (with slides, exercises, literature):
See also: Computational Social Choice Seminar at the ILLC