Bounded confidence dynamics and graph control: enforcing consensus

Abstract: A generic feature of bounded confidence type models is the formation of clusters of agents. We propose and study a variant of bounded confidence dynamics with the goal of inducing unconditional convergence to a consensus. The defining feature of these dynamics, which we name the No one left behind dynamics, is the introduction of a local control on the agents which preserves the connectivity of the interaction network. We rigorously demonstrate that these dynamics result in unconditional convergence to a consensus. The qualitative nature of our argument prevents us quantifying how fast a consensus emerges, however we present numerical evidence that sharp convergence rates would be challenging to obtain for such dynamics. Finally, we propose a relaxed version of the control. The dynamics that result maintain many of the qualitative features of the bounded confidence dynamics yet ultimately still converge to a consensus as the control still maintains connectivity of the interaction network.