Skip to main content

Plans and the revision of intentions

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Distributed Artificial Intelligence Architecture and Modelling (DAI 1995)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 1087))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

Although various theories of intention have been proposed, it is not obvious whether any of them can be realized in a computer implementation. Conversely, although there are many multi-agent systems, it is not clear which theories of intention they embody. In this paper, we present an initial step towards provably realizing a theory of intention in a computer system. The theory is a simplified version of Cohen and Levesque's theory based on situation semantics. We present a logic of belief and intention that is sound and complete with respect to our semantics and show that the standard logical puzzles concerning intention are handled correctly within the framework. The implementation is based on a belief revision system operating under the principle of minimal change of entrenchment. The main insight behind our approach is that persistence is not a defining property of intention, but rather is a consequence of the application of the principle of minimal change to intentions. A feature of the approach is the separation between the logic used by the agent and the dynamical properties of the agent's mental states. As a result, it is possible to define a simple rational agent whose intentions persist but which does not believe that its intentions persist. We show how linear hierarchical plans specified as ordered sets of beliefs and intentions can be represented and executed by a rational agent with the use of a simple interpreter.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Alchourrón, C., Gärdenfors, P. & Makinson, D. (1985) ‘On the Logic ofTheory Change: Partial Meet Contraction and Revision Functions.’ Journal of Symbolic Logic, 50, 510–530.

    Google Scholar 

  • Asher, N. & Koons, R. (1993) ‘The Revision of Beliefs and Intentions in a Changing World.’ Proceedings of the 1993 Spring Symposium on Reasoning about Mental States: Formal Theories and Applications, 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barwise, J. & Perry, J. (1983) Situations and Attitudes. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell, J. (1995) ‘Changing Attitudes.’ in Wooldridge, M.J. & Jennings, N.R. (Eds) Intelligent Agents. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bratman, M.E. (1987) Intention, Plans and Practical Reason. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chellas, B.F. (1980) Modal Logic: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, P.R. & Levesque, H.J. (1990a) ‘Persistence, Intention, and Commitment.’ in Cohen, P.R., Morgan, J. & Pollack, M.E. (Eds) Intentions in Communication. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, P.R. & Levesque, H.J. (1990b) ‘Intention is Choice with Commitment.’ Artificial Intelligence, 42, 213–261.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, P.R. & Perrault, C.R. (1979) ‘Elements of a Plan-Based Theory of Speech Acts.’ Cognitive Science, 3, 177–212.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dennett, D.C. (1987) The Intentional Stance. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dixon, S.E. & Wobcke, W.R. (1993) ‘The Implementation of a First-Order Logic AGM Belief Revision System.’ Proceedings of the Fifth IEEE International Conference on Tools with Artificial Intelligence, 40–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fodor, J.A. (1975) The Language of Thought. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gärdenfors, P. (1988) Knowledge in Flux. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gärdenfors, P. & Makinson, D. (1988) ‘Revisions of Knowledge Systems Using Epistemic Entrenchment.’ Proceedings of the Second Conference on Theoretical Aspects of Reasoning About Knowledge, 83–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Georgeff, M.P. & Lansky, A.L. (1987) ‘Reactive Reasoning and Planning.’ Proceedings of the Sixth National Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-87), 677–682.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, N.R. (1995) ‘Controlling Cooperative Problem Solving in Industrial Multi-agent Systems Using Joint Intentions.’ Artificial Intelligence, 75, 195–240.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kautz, H.A. (1990) ‘A Circumscriptive Theory of Plan Recognition.’ in Cohen, P.R., Morgan, J. & Pollack, M.E. (Eds) Intentions in Communication. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Konolige, K. & Pollack, M.E. (1993) ‘A Representationalist Theory of Intention.’ Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 390–395.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollack, M.E. (1990) ‘Plans as Complex Mental Attitudes.’ in Cohen, P.R., Morgan, J. & Pollack, M.E. (Eds) Intentions in Communication. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rao, A.S. & Georgeff, M.P. (1991a) ‘Modeling Rational Agents within a BDI-Architecture.’ Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Principles of Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, 473–484.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rao, A.S. & Georgeff, M.P. (1991b) ‘Asymmetry Thesis and Side-Effect Problems in Linear-Time and Branching-Time Intention Logics.’ Proceedings of the Twelfth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 498–504.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rao, A.S. & Georgeff, M.P. (1992) ‘An Abstract Architecture for Rational Agents.’ Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Principles of Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, 439–449.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rott, H. (1991) ‘A Nonmonotonic Conditional Logic for Belief Revision.’ in Fuhrmann, A. & Morreau, M. (Eds) The Logic of Theory Change. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, S.J. & Wefald, E. (1991) Do the Right Thing. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shoham, Y. (1988) Reasoning About Change. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shoham, Y. (1993) ‘Agent-Oriented Programming.’ Artificial Intelligence, 60, 51–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh, M.P. (1992) ‘A Critical Examination of the Cohen-Levesque Theory of Intentions.’ Proceedings of the Tenth European Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 364–368.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, M. (1992) ‘Two Operators for Theory Base Change.’ Proceedings of the Fifth Australian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 259–265.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wobcke, W.R. (1995) ‘Belief Revision, Conditional Logic and Nonmonotonic Reasoning.’ Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic, 36, 55–102.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Chengqi Zhang Dickson Lukose

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1996 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Wobcke, W. (1996). Plans and the revision of intentions. In: Zhang, C., Lukose, D. (eds) Distributed Artificial Intelligence Architecture and Modelling. DAI 1995. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1087. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-61314-5_24

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-61314-5_24

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-61314-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-68456-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics