# The Emergence of Consensus: A Primer

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1704.07767 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1704.07767/

## Key facts

- Cited by 12 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 25 Apr 2017.

## Built on by (most cited first, 12 of 12)

- [Emergent social conventions and collective bias in LLM populations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.08948/) (2024)
- [Group size effects and collective misalignment in LLM multi-agent systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.22422/) (2025)
- [Machine learning dismantling and early-warning signals of disintegration in complex systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.02453/) (2021)
- [Shaping New Norms for AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.08564/) (2023)
- [Collective Reasoning Among LLMs: A Framework for Answer Validation Without Ground Truth](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.20758/) (2025)
- [Enhancing Answer Reliability Through Inter-Model Consensus of Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.16797/) (2024)
- [Exploring the Topology and Memory of Consensus: How LLM Agents Agree, Fragment, or Settle When Forming Conventions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.04197/) (2026)
- [Reply to "Emergent LLM behaviors are observationally equivalent to data leakage"](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.18600/) (2025)
- [The Impact of Network Connectivity on Collective Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.00655/) (2021)
- [Indirect tipping: a social attack surface in AI agent populations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.25194/) (2026)
- [High-fidelity social learning via shared episodic memories enhances collaborative foraging through mnemonic convergence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.20271/) (2024)
- [Drivers of LLM Consensus Formation Under Competing Incentives: A Simulation Study](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.20200/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The origin of population-scale coordination has puzzled philosophers and scientists for centuries. Recently, game theory, evolutionary approaches and complex systems science have provided quantitative insights on the mechanisms of social consensus. However, the literature is vast and widely scattered across fields, making it hard for the single researcher to navigate it. This short review aims to provide a compact overview of the main dimensions over which the debate has unfolded and to discuss some representative examples. It focuses on those situations in which consensus emerges 'spontaneously' in absence of centralised institutions and covers topic that include the macroscopic consequences of the different microscopic rules of behavioural contagion, the role of social networks, and the mechanisms that prevent the formation of a consensus or alter it after it has emerged. Special attention is devoted to the recent wave of experiments on the emergence of consensus in social systems.