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Foundations and Applications of Multi-Agent Systems pp 185–204Cite as

A Model of Delegation for Multi-agent Systems

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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 2403))

Abstract

An agent may decide to delegate tasks to others. The act of delegating a task by one autonomous agent to another can be carried out by the performance of one or more imperative communication acts. In this paper, the semantics of imperatives are specified using a language of actions and states. It is further shown how the model can be used to distinguish between whole-hearted and mere extensional satisfaction of an imperative, and how this may be used to specify the semantics of imperatives in agent communication languages. The act of delegating a task from one agent to another can be carried out through the performance of one or more imperative communication acts. In this paper, the semantics of such imperatives are specified using a language of actions and states. The logical system that is developed then supports a notion of responsibility. An agent may not only be issued an imperative to directly carry out an event, or achieve some state, but also to be responsible for an event being carried out or state achieved - and these latter commitments might then be serviced through a subsequent act of delegation. The model thus clearly distinguishes between different classes of responsibility and different forms of delegation, and it is shown how this sound theoretical foundation can then be applied in specifying the semantics of imperatives in agent communication languages.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computing Science, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, Scotland, UK

    Timothy J. Norman

  2. Department of Applied Computing, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 4HN, Scotland, UK

    Chris Reed

Authors
  1. Timothy J. Norman
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  2. Chris Reed
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cavendish School of Computer Science, University of Westminster, 9-18 Euston Centre, London, NW1 3ET, UK

    Mark d’Inverno

  2. Department of Computer Science, Southampton University, Southampton, S017 1BJ, UK

    Michael Luck

  3. Department of Computer Science, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZF, UK

    Michael Fisher

  4. Hewlett-Packard laboratories Bristol, Filton Road, Stoke Gifford, Bristol, BS12 6QZ, UK

    Chris Preist

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© 2002 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Norman, T.J., Reed, C. (2002). A Model of Delegation for Multi-agent Systems. In: d’Inverno, M., Luck, M., Fisher, M., Preist, C. (eds) Foundations and Applications of Multi-Agent Systems. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 2403. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45634-1_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-45634-1_12

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-43962-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-45634-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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