Agents that Reason and Negotiate by Arguing
TL;DR: A framework, based upon a system of argumentation, which permits agents to negotiate in order to establish acceptable ways of solving problems and describes a case study of this relationship for a particular class of architectures (namely those for belief-desire-intention agents).
Abstract: The need for negotiation in multi-agent systems stems from the requirement for agents to solve the problems posed by their interdependence upon one another. Negotiation provides a solution to these problems by giving the agents the means to resolve their conflicting objectives, correct inconsistencies in their knowledge of other agents' world views, and coordinate a joint approach to domain tasks which benefits all the agents concerned. We propose a framework, based upon a system of argumentation, which permits agents to negotiate in order to establish acceptable ways of solving problems. The framework provides a formal model of argumentation-based reasoning and negotiation, details a design philosophy which ensures a clear link between the formal model and its practical instantiation, and describes a case study of this relationship for a particular class of architectures (namely those for belief-desire-intention agents).
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01 Nov 2001
TL;DR: A multi-agent system (MAS) as discussed by the authors is a distributed computing system with autonomous interacting intelligent agents that coordinate their actions so as to achieve its goal(s) jointly or competitively.
Abstract: From the Publisher:
An agent is an entity with domain knowledge, goals and actions. Multi-agent systems are a set of agents which
interact in a common environment. Multi-agent systems deal with the construction of complex systems involving multiple agents and their coordination. A multi-agent system (MAS) is a distributed computing system with
autonomous interacting intelligent agents that coordinate their actions so as to achieve its goal(s) jointly or competitively.
3,003 citations
1,467 citations
TL;DR: A number of foundational contributions provided the basis for the formulation of argumentation models and their promotion in AI related settings and then a number of new themes that have emerged in recent years are considered, many of which provide the principal topics of the research presented in this volume.
1,002 citations
Cites methods from "Agents that Reason and Negotiate by..."
...We refer the reader to [159, Section 7] for a more detailed discussion of subsequent work building on [175] in particular the important contributions of Kraus, Sycara and Evenchik [110] and Parsons, Sierra and Jennings [140]....
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TL;DR: Software agent technologies can be used to automate several of the most time-consuming stages of the buying process, and help optimize the whole buying experience, revolutionizing commerce as the authors know it.
Abstract: COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM March 1999/Vol. 42, No. 3 81 However, the potential of the Internet for transforming commerce is largely unrealized. Electronic purchases are still largely nonautomated. While information about products and vendors is more easily accessible, and orders and payments are dealt with electronically, humans are still in the loop in all stages of the buying process, adding to transaction costs. A human buyer is still responsible for collecting and interpreting information on merchants and products, making decisions about merchants and products, and ultimately entering purchase and payment information. Software agent technologies can be used to automate several of the most time-consuming stages of the buying process. Unlike socalled traditional software, software agents are personalized, continuously running, and semiautonomous [1]. These qualities help optimize the whole buying experience, revolutionizing commerce as we know it [2]. For example, a company that needs to opular software agents were first used several years
856 citations
TL;DR: The CBB model the authors present augments traditional marketing models with concepts from Software Agents research to accommodate electronic markets and discusses the variety of Artificial Intelligence techniques that support agent mediation.
Abstract: Software agents help automate a variety of tasks including those involved in buying and selling products over the Internet. This paper surveys several of these agent-mediated electronic commerce systems by describing their roles in the context of a Consumer Buying Behavior (CBB) model. The CBB model we present augments traditional marketing models with concepts from Software Agents research to accommodate electronic markets. We then discuss the variety of Artificial Intelligence techniques that support agent mediation and conclude with future directions of agent-mediated electronic commerce research.
770 citations
References
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TL;DR: Agent theory is concerned with the question of what an agent is, and the use of mathematical formalisms for representing and reasoning about the properties of agents as discussed by the authors ; agent architectures can be thought of as software engineering models of agents; and agent languages are software systems for programming and experimenting with agents.
Abstract: The concept of an agent has become important in both Artificial Intelligence (AI) and mainstream computer science. Our aim in this paper is to point the reader at what we perceive to be the most important theoretical and practical issues associated with the design and construction of intelligent agents. For convenience, we divide these issues into three areas (though as the reader will see, the divisions are at times somewhat arbitrary). Agent theory is concerned with the question of what an agent is, and the use of mathematical formalisms for representing and reasoning about the properties of agents. Agent architectures can be thought of as software engineering models of agents;researchers in this area are primarily concerned with the problem of designing software or hardware systems that will satisfy the properties specified by agent theorists. Finally, agent languages are software systems for programming and experimenting with agents; these languages may embody principles proposed by theorists. The paper is not intended to serve as a tutorial introduction to all the issues mentioned; we hope instead simply to identify the most important issues, and point to work that elaborates on them. The article includes a short review of current and potential applications of agent technology.
6,714 citations
TL;DR: By showing that argumentation can be viewed as a special form of logic programming with negation as failure, this paper introduces a general logic-programming-based method for generating meta-interpreters for argumentation systems, a method very much similar to the compiler-compiler idea in conventional programming.
4,386 citations
01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: This paper explores a particular type of rational agent, a BeliefDesire-Intention (BDI) agent, and integrates the theoretical foundations of BDI agents from both a quantitative decision-theoretic perspective and a symbolic reasoning perspective.
Abstract: The study of computational agents capable of rational behaviour has received a great deal of attention in recent years. Theoretical formalizations of such agents and their implementations have proceeded in parallel with little or no connection between them. Tkis paper explores a particular type of rational agent, a BeliefDesire-Intention (BDI) agent. The primary aim of this paper is to integrate (a) the theoretical foundations of BDI agents from both a quantitative decision-theoretic perspective and a symbolic reasoning perspective; (b) the implementations of BDI agents from an ideal theoretical perspective and a more practical perspective; and (c) the building of large-scale applications based on BDI agents. In particular, an air-trafflc management application will be described from both a theoretical and an implementation perspective.
3,050 citations
"Agents that Reason and Negotiate by..." refers background in this paper
...The predominant mech-anism for managing these interdependencies at run-time is negotiation|the processby which a group of agents communicate with one another to try and come to a mu-tually acceptable agreement on some matter [3]....
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02 Jan 1991
TL;DR: In this article, a multiaxis classification of temporal and modal logic is presented, and the formal syntax and semantics for two representative systems of propositional branching-time temporal logics are described.
Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses temporal and modal logic. The chapter describes a multiaxis classification of systems of temporal logic. The chapter describes the framework of linear temporal logic. In both its propositional and first-order forms, linear temporal logic has been widely employed in the specification and verification of programs. The chapter describes the competing framework of branching temporal logic, which has seen wide use. It also explains how temporal logic structures can be used to model concurrent programs using non-determinism and fairness. The chapter also discusses other modal and temporal logics in computer science. The chapter describes the formal syntax and semantics of Propositional Linear Temporal Logic (PLTL). The chapter also describes the formal syntax and semantics for two representative systems of propositional branching-time temporal logics.
2,871 citations
TL;DR: Results from several prototype agents that have been built using an approach to building interface agents are presented, including agents that provide personalized assistance with meeting scheduling, email handling, electronic news filtering, and selection of entertainment.
Abstract: Publisher Summary Computers are becoming the vehicle for an increasing range of everyday activities. Acquisition of news and information, mail and even social interactions and entertainment have become more and more computer based. These technological developments are not in line with a change in the way people interact with computers. Techniques from the field of AI, in particular so-called autonomous agents, can be used to implement a complementary style of interaction, which has been referred to as indirect management. Agents assist users in a range of different ways. They hide the complexity of difficult tasks, they perform tasks on the user's behalf, they can train or teach the user, they help different users collaborate, and they monitor events and procedures. The chapter focuses on an approach to building interface agents. It presents results from several prototype agents that have been built using this approach, including agents that provide personalized assistance with meeting scheduling, email handling, electronic news filtering, and selection of entertainment.
2,582 citations