Beyond first-person shooter video games: Using computational modeling and simulation of mass violence for threat assessment and management.

Abstract

Mass violence is empirically rare. Studying mass violence presents numerous methodological challenges. The complex nature of mass violence events, which may have germinated in years prior, make attempts to use conventional research methods problematic. Complexity science and the interdisciplinary field of computational social science offer new scientific paradigms and computational tools well suited to the study of complex and dynamic phenomena like mass violence. We review aspects of mass violence that can hamper research efforts, introduce complexity science, computational social science and computational modeling, and highlight three types of computational models that will likely be of particular interest and value to the threat assessment and management community.

Complex Network Analysis of Mass Violation, Specifically Mass Killing

“…The complex idea of mass violence occasions, which may have sprouted years earlier, makes investigators utilize regular examination strategies risky. Complexity sciences and the interdisciplinary field of computational social science offer new logical ideal models, implementations, and tools appropriate to the investigation of complicated and dynamic occurrences such as mass violence [ 31 ].…”

“…Network analysis has been reported on data related to mass violence, e.g., mass violation, Mass Killing, murdering. Three types of computational models have been presented that will probably be specifically related to mass violence and incentive to the danger appraisal and managing community [ 31 ]. Murder by structure has been analyzed in which neighborhood social establishments and on-screen characters are reliant; that is, the social systems of people and gatherings (regardless of whether prosocial or degenerate) reach beyond neighborhood limits and encourage the spatial contagion of murder.…”

Complexity, computational modeling, and forecasting the future of threat management.

“…As noted above, the rarity and complexity of targeted violence make these behaviors resistant to traditional statistical analysis but potentially suitable for the approaches of CSS. These more advanced approaches are outlined in the second article in this section, including the spatial, social, and organizational models for targeted violence (Briggs & Pollard, 2020). These analytic approaches using network modeling and machine learning have the potential to help identify patterns of risk and strategies of mitigation heretofore unrecognized.…”

Learning from the parallel field of terrorism studies.

“…Briggs and Pollard (2020) make a convincing case for the advancement of computational modeling and simulation of mass violence for threat assessment and management. The purpose of this commentary is to look into the analogous study of terrorism to pinpoint recent areas of advancement.…”