A Semantics for the Interaction of Agents with Coordination Artifacts
Mirko Viroli, Alessandro Ricci, Andrea Omicini · 2004
In this paper we consider the multi-agent systems (MAS) scenario where agents do not only cooperate by direct, communicative speech acts, but may also interact with coordination artifacts — embodied entities dynamically provided by the MAS infrastructure to realise specific coordination rules. We study a semantics for this kind of interaction, based on the idea that agents exploit the coordination artifact according to some operating instructions, which describe the interaction protocol the agent has to follow as well as the mentalistic semantics of each single interaction. By tackling some of the most relevant issues raised in the context of ACL semantics, our framework allows intelligent, BDI-like agents to carry on interaction protocols in a rational way. 1 Mediated Interaction One of the key principles of the research on agentbased systems is the intentional stance [Dennett, 1987]: as far as the complexity of MAS design is concerned, agent behaviour is better understood, predicted, and analysed in terms of mental properties — such as believes, desires, and intentions (fears, hopes, and so on) — instead of just relying on the agent design. This approach has then promoted a connection between the agent abstraction and human behaviour (and between MASs and social groups of people) which drove a number of typical design choices in the agent field. Most notably, these include the idea of basing agent communications on the speech act theory [Searle, 1969]: each communication act is directed to another agent, and is an utterance whose meaning is associated to a human-like kind of speech, also called performative, such as an inform, a request or a propose. This model also made into the agent mainstream: in the FIPA standard, agents interact with ∗ This work has been partially supported by MIUR, project COFIN 2003 (ex 40%) “Fiducia e diritto nella società