A logic f delegation.doc

A logic of delegation Timothy J. Norman, and Chris Reed aDepartment of Computing Science, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UE, Scotland, UK bSchool of Computing, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN, Scotland, UK Received 29 October 2008;? revised 1 October 2009;? accepted 4 October 2009.? Available online 13 October 2009. Abstract Delegation is a foundational concept for understanding and engineering systems that interact and execute tasks autonomously. By extending recent work on tensed action logic, it becomes possible to pin down a specific interpretation of responsibility with a well specified semantics and a convenient and intuitive logic for expression. Once descriptions of direct agent responsibility can be formed, there is a foundation upon which to characterise the dynamics of how responsibility can be acquired, transferred and discharged and, in particular, how delegation can be effected. The resulting logic, designed specifically to cater for responsibility and delegation, can then be employed to offer an axiological and semantic exploration of the related concepts of forbearance, imperatives and group communication. Keywords: Delegation; Groups; Imperatives; Responsibility; Agent communication References [1]K. Atkinson, R. Girle, P. McBurney and S. Parsons, Command dialogues. In: I. Rahwan and P. Moraitis, Editors, Proceedings of the Fifth International Workshop on Argumentation in Multi-Agent Systems, Springer-Verlag (2008), pp. 9–23. [2]N. Belnap, Backwards and forwards in the modal logic of agency, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 51 (1991), pp. 777–807. [3]N. Belnap and M. Perloff, The way of the agent, Studia Logica 51 (3/4) (1992), pp. 463–484. View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (12) [4]N. Belnap, M. Perloff and M. Xu, Facing the Future, Oxford University Press (2001). [5]K.E. Biggers and T.R. Ioerger, Automatic generation of communication and teamwork within multi-agent teams, Applied Artificial Intelligence 15 (10)