1

Discussion on the Strategy of Exploiting Weaknesses to

Overcome Strengths in a Multi-Agent System

You Li

Department of Mathematics, University of Connecticut, Connecticut, CT 06269, USA

you.li@uconn.edu

Abstract. In the realm of present multi-agent research, the presumption is often

that two competing groups possess equivalent strength. This article, however,
ventures into unexplored territory by contemplating the strategy a significantly
weaker group should adopt in its struggle for survival when faced with a more
powerful adversary. Furthermore, it ponders how this underpowered group could
potentially subvert the prevailing power dynamics and achieve either partial or
total victory. This exploration challenges the conventional assumptions held in
the domain of multi-agent systems, urging a reconsideration of strategies when
power asymmetry is in play. The focus isn't merely on survival tactics for the
weaker entity, but also on understanding how such an entity can strategically lev-
erage its weakness to turn the tables, shifting the balance of power in its favor.
The underlying premise is that a significant disparity in power does not inevitably
lead to the defeat of the weaker group. Instead, with strategic planning and exe-
cution, a weaker group could exploit the strengths and weaknesses of the stronger
group, offering novel insights for multi-agent strategies. Through this investiga-
tion, the study seeks to provide a comprehensive framework for survival and suc-
cess in unequal power dynamics within multi-agent systems. It aims to stimulate
further research in this critical yet underexplored area, encouraging the develop-
ment of more nuanced and realistic models that account for power disparities and
the potential for their reversal.

Keywords: Multi-Agent Systems, Power Asymmetry, Survival Strategies,

Strength Reversal

1 Introduction

Multi-agent systems have become a prominent research area due to their ability to
model complex systems that comprise interacting agents. While numerous studies
have delved into diverse aspects of these systems, there remains an often overlooked
assumption: the strength equivalence between competing groups. However, the reality
of many multi-agent scenarios is one marked by power asymmetry, whereby one
group might hold substantial dominance over another. This paper sets out to challenge
the traditional presumption and navigate the less-traveled path of exploring how a
notably weaker group can not only persist but also potentially triumph over a stronger

© The Author(s) 2023

P. Kar et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the 2023 International Conference on Image, Algorithms and Artificial
Intelligence (ICIAAI 2023), Advances in Computer Science Research 108,
https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-300-9_39
384 Y. Li

adversary in a multi-agent setting. This endeavor adds a new dimension to the

existing corpus of multi-agent research, seeking to extend its applicability to
situations of significant power disparities. Our discussion will first analyze the unique
challenges and possibilities that present themselves when a group is significantly
weaker than its opponent. I seek to outline a strategic blueprint for survival, as merely
persisting can often be a triumph in such uneven scenarios. From this baseline of
survival, the study then moves towards an even more ambitious goal: the inversion of
the prevailing power dynamics. By strategically utilizing their own weaknesses and
exploiting the vulnerabilities of the stronger group, the weaker group might not only
endure but effect a power reversal. This intriguing concept upends the classic notion
that the stronger side is invariably the victor, suggesting that strength can also be a
double-edged sword, and that weakness can sometimes be a catalyst for innovative
strategies and unexpected victories.
This paper aims to stimulate further dialogue and research on this underexplored
yet crucial aspect of multi-agent systems. In doing so, I hope to facilitate a more
nuanced understanding of power dynamics and their potential reversals, ultimately
contributing to more robust, realistic models and strategies in the field of multi-agent
systems.

2 The Survival of Weak Party

2.1 Evading Danger for Weak Party

When a weaker party covers a larger, more dispersed area, the intelligent agents
should converge to avoid easy defeat by stronger adversaries. This tactic gathers the
strength of the weaker party, preserving its capabilities. The rewards for weaker
intelligent agents should be appropriately adjusted to reflect this strategy [1].
Although the ultimate goal is to overcome the opponent, direct confrontation with a
formidable adversary may lead to swift defeat. Thus, a balance must be maintained
between short-term and long-term objectives. If a segment of intelligent agents is
pursued or encircled by the enemy and escape proves difficult, a strategic division of
the weak party into separate parts is recommended. This allows unencumbered agents
to reach safety swiftly [2]. Agents entrapped by the adversary can provide a buffer,
slowing the enemy's advance and ensuring the safety of most agents.

2.2 Ensuring Survival of the Weaker Party

Agents that temporarily evade the enemy should seek locations rich in survival
resources to strengthen their capabilities and prepare for potential counterattacks [3].
These locations should ideally be remote and away from major transportation routes
to minimize detection. Multiple locations should be selected, and these should be
spread out to maintain options for relocation. This approach is crucial because
detection by a formidable opponent could lead to peril [4].
 Discussion on the Strategy of Exploiting Weaknesses to Overcome Strengths 385

3 Avoiding Hasty Large-scale Counterattacks While

Ensuring Survival for the Weaker Party

3.1 Proceed with Caution

Once a weaker party has amassed some strength in the survival area, a hasty
counterattack is not advised. This caution is necessary because stronger adversaries
have likely increased their strength and organizational abilities. In a state of
uncertainty, a weaker party should aim to understand the stronger party's basic
structure. As a general rule, stronger parties occupy large, contiguous territories,
making it challenging for them to search for the scattered, smaller units of the weaker
party [5].

3.2 Forming a Situation Where the Weak Party is Stronger than the
Strong Party in Local Areas

However, as time goes by, the strong party needs to expand its boundaries outward
due to the depletion of local resources, and the Lebensraum of the weak party will
continue to be compressed. Therefore, when the Lebensraum of the weak party is
reduced to a certain limit, they should organize small-scale counterattacks in different
places. The purpose of counterattack is twofold. The first is to use offense as a means
of defense. If one blindly defends, it will gradually lead to failure. A planned attack
can appropriately expand the territory of the weak party, winning more space for
survival and transfer for the weak party; Secondly, by organizing small-scale
counterattacks, intelligent agents can gradually learn their opponents' attack patterns
and tactics, which can prepare for future victories. Generally speaking, if the weak
party wants to reverse the current situation, the risks and costs of a tough
confrontation are relatively huge [6]. By changing the environment and enticing the
strong party to attack the weak party's imagined location, the weak party can
concentrate their advantageous forces to attack the strong party's resource sources. In
the case of the strong party dominating the overall situation, a situation where the
weak party is strong and the strong party is weak is formed in local areas, Thus, the
strength of the strong party is substantially weakened in some local areas, and when
this weakening reaches a certain cumulative level, the overall situation will change
[7]. This requires the weak party to conduct exploratory attacks on the opponent
during survival, familiarize themselves with the opponent's attack mode and thinking,
and then deliberately influence the environmental signals to mobilize the opponent, as
the environment is shared by both parties.
386 Y. Li

4 Capturing the Weaknesses of the Strong Party and

Seeking to Turn the Situation Around by the Weak
Party

Due to the fact that the strong party is superior to the weak party in many dimensions,
the weakness of the strong party in one dimension will be compensated for by the
advantages in many other dimensions. Therefore, for the weak party, finding the
weaknesses of the strong party becomes both important and difficult. The
theoretically optimal strategy maximizes the reduction of the damage caused by the
optimal dimension of the strong party to the weak party [8]. This requires the weak
party to create a certain environment in an appropriate way, so that the most
advantageous unit of the strong party loses its effectiveness. If the most advantageous
unit relies on a certain resource, cutting off the source of that resource will become
the most effective means of constraining the unit. If the most advantageous unit relies
on a certain environment for its effectiveness, then the weak party lures the
advantageous unit of the strong party into an area where it cannot effectively perform
by changing the environmental signal, and seeks suitable opportunities to defeat it. In
this way, the situation of confrontation between the two parties may have a substantial
reversal.

5 Considering the Strong Party's Decision When Making

Decisions by the Weaker Party

In the dynamics of conflict and competition, the strategy of the weaker party
necessitates the integration of the stronger party's decisions within its decision-
making process [9]. This multifaceted process demands the weaker party not only to
predict the actions of the stronger adversary but also to account for the possibility that
the stronger party is making parallel estimations and strategic moves. This reciprocal
interplay of decisions underscores the complexity of the strategic landscape,
highlighting the iterative and adaptive nature of decision-making within competitive
dynamics. The decisions and actions of both parties, while deeply interconnected, are
inherently asymmetric in function and consequence. This asymmetry primarily arises
from the disparities in power and resource availability between the parties.
Consequently, the weaker party bears a greater risk of substantial losses arising from
incorrect decisions or missteps. This potential for significant loss injects a heightened
degree of caution into the decision-making process of the weaker party, underlining
the need for a meticulous evaluation of choices and their potential consequences [10].
This asymmetry extends beyond the immediate consequences of individual decisions,
permeating the strategic orientation of both parties. For the stronger party, the
robustness of resources and power allows a broader margin for error in their
decisions. Minor mistakes or miscalculations may not necessarily inflict substantial
harm on the stronger party. On the other hand, the weaker party, with its limited
resources and power, has a much smaller margin for error. Missteps can quickly
 Discussion on the Strategy of Exploiting Weaknesses to Overcome Strengths 387

escalate into major setbacks, underscoring the need for careful, calculated decisions.
Thus, the weaker party's decision-making process must accommodate the predictions
and expectations of the stronger party, while also accounting for its own
vulnerabilities and the asymmetric consequences of strategic decisions. The need for
such delicate balancing acts defines the complex challenge faced by the weaker party,
highlighting the criticality of strategic foresight, meticulous planning, and adaptability
in decision-making processes.

6 The Requirements for Multi-agent Systems Based on

What Discussed Above

6.1 Collaboration Mechanism Should Be Further Improved

Both parties need effective collaboration mechanisms, especially the weak party when
transferring or engaging in small-scale attacks. How to set appropriate incentive
functions and how the weak party can react to real-time environments require further
investigation.
6.2 Enhanced Ability to Predict the Opponent's Actions
A stronger ability to predict the opponent's actions will allow the weak party to better
avoid risks. Information for these predictions can be gleaned from small-scale
exploratory attacks, during which the behaviors of the strong party can be better
understood.

7 Conclusion

This article embarks on an exploration of survival and progression strategies from the
vantage point of a weaker party, treating the stronger party as an intelligent agent that
follows relatively patterned behavior during a development stage. However, it must
be acknowledged that in real-world scenarios, strong multi-agent systems often enjoy
multi-dimensional advantages. These systems possess a larger development space,
more available resources, and diverse transformation modes, rendering them more
powerful and versatile than their weaker counterparts. Such complexities create a
conundrum for the weaker group, as they must strategize within this landscape of
uneven advantages. This article posits that a critical step in resolving this issue lies in
understanding how to effectively incorporate the dynamic space of the stronger party
into the decision-making process of the weaker one. By doing so, it can provide the
latter with insights to navigate, survive, and potentially thrive within an asymmetric
power environment.
Ultimately, this exploration seeks to shine a light on how a weaker entity can
traverse the challenging landscape of a multi-agent system. It propounds the necessity
to reevaluate traditional strategies, necessitating a shift from a static and homogenous
view of strength towards a more fluid understanding. This fluid understanding
acknowledges the capacity for power dynamics to be subverted, creating room for the
388 Y. Li

weak to exploit vulnerabilities in the strong. Such a perspective opens up a new vista
of possibilities for survival and success in multi-agent systems, especially for those
that start from a position of disadvantage.

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