Social Computing, Behavioral-Cultural Modeling & Prediction and Behavior Representation in Modeling and Simulation (SBP-BRiMS) 2018 Highlights Preface.

Abstract

We are pleased to present this special issue of the best of the 11th Annual Social Computing, Behavioral Modeling and Prediction/Behavior Representation in Modeling Simulation (SBP-BRIMS) Conference in the Journal of Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory. The goal of the SBP-BRIMS Society is to build a community of computational social science scholars by fostering interaction between members of the academic, corporate, government, and military communities that are interested in understanding, forecasting, and impacting human socio-cultural behavior. In 2018, our conference featured two challenge problems: one on opioid epidemic and another on disinformation campaigns. In addition, we brought in a plenary panel to discuss the burgeoning field of social cyber security. This panel took a step towards defining this new science, its theories, its methods, and its scientific culture in a way that does not give priority to either social science or computer science, but instead understand how each field is dependent on the other. Despite decades of work in this area, this new scientific field is still in its infancy. To meet this charge and to move this science to the next level, this community must meet the following three challenges: deep understanding, socio-cognitive reasoning, and re-usable computational technology. Fortunately, as the papers in this volume illustrate, this community is poised to answer these challenges.