An Introduction to MultiAgent Systems.

In information societies, operations, decisions and choices previously left to humans are increasingly delegated to algorithms, which may advise, if not decide, about how data should be interpreted and what actions should be taken as a result. More and more often, algorithms mediate social processes, business transactions, governmental decisions, and how we perceive, understand, and interact among ourselves and with the environment. Gaps between the design and operation of algorithms and our understanding of their ethical implications can have severe consequences affecting individuals as well as groups and whole societies. This paper makes three contributions to clarify the ethical importance of algorithmic mediation. It provides a prescriptive map to organise the debate. It reviews the current discussion of ethical aspects of algorithms. And it assesses the available literature in order to identify areas requiring further work to develop the ethics of algorithms.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2053951716679679

The ethics of algorithms: Mapping the debate:

A clutch of '-isms' characterises the approach to consciousness which David Chalmers defends: dualism, epiphenomenalism, functionalism, anti-reductionism, and -probably -panpsychism. (The author would no doubt want 'naturalism' included in the list as well, but as we shall see, Chalmers' predilection to describe his theory as 'scientific' stretches credibility.) While the book does not, as far as I can see, move consciousness research significantly forward, Chalmers succeeds admirably in clarifying the philosophical terrain around and within each of these '-isms' and in questioning the usual assumptions which suggest some of them are mutually exclusive. Because nearly all of what follows is highly critical, I want to be explicit about one thing: I do not think this is a bad book. Throughout, most discussions keep to a very high standard; it's just that they include fatal flaws.

The conscious mind: In search of a fundamental theory

Wittgenstein's work remains, undeniably, now, that off one of those few philosophers who will be read by all future generations.

Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics. By L. Wittgenstein. Edited by G. H. Von Wright, R. Rhees and G. E. M. Anscombe. Translated by G. E. M. Anscombe. Pp. 400. 37s. 6d. 1956. (Basil Blackwell, Oxford)

Gilles Fauconnier & Mark Turner, " The way we think: conceptual blending and the mind's hidden complexities"

Constructive Type Theory: Foundation and Formalization- Analyticity and Information- Formal Representation of the Notion of Information- Constructive Philosophy of Information

Information and Knowledge : A Constructive Type-theoretical Approach

Artefacts do not always do what they are supposed to, due to a variety of reasons, including manufacturing problems, poor maintenance, and normal wear-and-tear. Since software is an artefact, it should be subject to malfunctioning in the same sense in which other artefacts can malfunction. Yet, whether software is on a par with other artefacts when it comes to malfunctioning crucially depends on the abstraction used in the analysis. We distinguish between “negative” and “positive” notions of malfunction. A negative malfunction, or dysfunction, occurs when an artefact token either does not (sometimes) or cannot (ever) do what it is supposed to. A positive malfunction, or misfunction, occurs when an artefact token may do what is supposed to but, at least occasionally, it also yields some unintended and undesirable effects. We argue that software, understood as type, may misfunction in some limited sense, but cannot dysfunction. Accordingly, one should distinguish software from other technical artefacts, in view of their design that makes dysfunction impossible for the former, while possible for the latter.

/pdf/on-malfunctioning-software-rj33pc6dlz.pdf

On malfunctioning software

https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/1976260/file/6763859.pdf

A modal type theory for formalizing trusted communications

In the past ten years distributed ledgers such as Bitcoin and smart contracts that can run code autonomously have seen an exponential growth both in terms of research interest and in terms of industrial and financial applications. These find a natural application in the area of Sensor Networks and Cyber-Physical Systems. However, the incentive architecture of blockchains requires massive computational resources for mining, delays in the confirmation of transactions and, more importantly, continuously growing transaction fees, which are ill-suited to systems in which services may be provided by resource-limited devices and confirmation times and transaction costs should be kept minimal, ideally absent. We focus on a new block-less, fee-less paradigm for distributed ledgers suitable for the WSN, IoT and CPS in which transactions are nodes of a directed acyclic graph, that overcomes the limitations of blockchains for these applications, and where e.g. sensors can be at the same time issuers of transactions and validators of previous transactions. In particular, we present and release open-source a simulation environment that can be easily extended and analysed, and confirms the available results on the performance of the network.

/pdf/multi-agent-based-simulations-of-block-free-distributed-mdzk7giavz.pdf

Multi-agent Based Simulations of Block-Free Distributed Ledgers

The Editors’ vision for this volume is that it should be a selection of essays, contributed by the academics who have worked, studied, collaborated and disagreed with Goran Sundholm; engaging in debated issues and exploring untouched areas maybe only suggested or hinted at in Sundholm’s own work.

"Acts of Knowledge" characterizes the papers contained in this volume as bringing something scientifically valuable in their respective fields: all the papers present cutting-edge research in their own style, contributing to very lively debates occurring in the literature in logic, philosophical logic and history of logic. But it also hints at Goran’s constructivist background, which has been an influence or a challenge for many of the contributors.

"History, Philosophy and Logic" refers directly to Goran's broad interests into the various aspects of the Philosophy of Logic, Mathematics, and Language, their origins and development, especially with the focus on the Modern History of Logic and the philosophical implications thereof.

The readers will find scattered all along this volume pieces of -- and reflections on -- all these themes.

Giuseppe Primiero

Papers

Information and Knowledge : A Constructive Type-theoretical Approach

On malfunctioning software

A modal type theory for formalizing trusted communications

Multi-agent Based Simulations of Block-Free Distributed Ledgers

Acts of Knowledge: History, Philosophy and Logic