Collaboration Between Human and Artificial Societies : Coordination and Agent-Based Distributed Computing

The Full Title Of The Hcm Network Project Behind This Volume Is Vim: A Virtual Multicomputer For Symbolic Applications. The Three Strands Which Bound The Network Together Were Parallel Systems, Advanced Compilation Techniques Andarti?cialintelligence Witha Commonsubstrate In The Programminglanguage Lisp. The Initial Aim Of The Project Was To Demonstrate How The Combination Of These Three Technologies Could Be Used To Build A Virtual Multicomputer — An Ephemeral, Persistent Machine Of Available Heterogeneous Computing Resources — For Large Scale Symbolic Applications . The System Would Support A Virtual Processor Abstraction To Distribute Data And Tasks Across The Multicomputer, The Actual Physical Composition Of Which May Change Dynamically. Our Practical Objective Was To Assist In The Prototyping Of Dynamic Distributed Symbolic App- Cations In Arti?cial Intelligence Using Whatever Resources Are Available (probably Networked Workstations), So That The Developed Program Could Also Be Run On More Exotic Hardware Without Reprogramming. What We Had Not Foreseen At The Outset Of The Project Was How Agents Would Unify The Strands At The Application Level, As Distinct From The System Level O- Lined Above. It Was As A Result Of The Agent In?uence That We Held Two Workshops In May And December 1997 With The Title “collaboration Between Human And Arti?cial Societies”. The Papers Collected In This Volume Are A Selection From Presentations Made At Those Two Workshops. In Each Case The Format Consisted Of A Number Of Invited Speakers Plus Presentations From The Network Partners. A Classification Of Various Approaches For Object-based Parallel And Distributed Programming / Jean-pierre Briot, Rachid Guerraoui -- Towards Meta-agent Protocols / Andreas Kind And Julian Padget -- Examples Of Fuzziness In Compilers And Runtime Systems / Angela C. Sodan -- Towards Rigorous Compiler Implementation Verification / Wolfgang Goerigk And Friedemann Simon -- Shifting The Focus From Control To Communication : The Streams Objects Environments Model Of Communicating Agents / Stefano A. Cerri -- Direct Manipulation, Scalability And The Internet / Don Cruickshank And Hugh Glaser -- Towards The Abstraction And Generalization Of Actor-based Architectures In Diagnostic Reasoning / Stefano A. Cerri, Antonio Gisolfi And Vincenzo Loia -- Converting Declarative Into Procedural (and Vice Versa) / Iain D. Craig -- Reflective Reasoning In A Case-based Reasoning Agent / Miquel Sànchez-marrè [and Others] -- Modelling Rational Inquiry In Non-ideal Agents / Antonio Moreno, Ulises Cortés And Ton Sales -- On The Process Of Making Descriptive Rules / D. Riaño -- A Service-oriented Negotiation Model Between Autonomous Agents / Carles Sierra, Peyman Faratin And Nick R. Jennings -- Competing Software Agents Support Human Agents / Sabine Geldof, Walter Van De Velde -- Coordination Developed By Learning From Evaluations / Edwin D. De Jong -- Rules Of Order For Electronic Group Decision Making -- A Formalization Methodology / Henry Prakken, Thomas F. Gordon -- Broadway : A Case-based System For Cooperative Information Browsing On The World-wide-web / Michel Jaczynski And Brigitte Trousse -- Towards A Formal Specification Of Complex Social Structures In Multi-agent Systems / Juan A. Rodríguez-aguilar [and Others]. Julian A. Padget (ed.). Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The full title of the HCM network project behind this volume is VIM: A virtual multicomputer for symbolic applications. The three strands which bound the network together were parallel systems, advanced compilation techniques andarti?cialintelligence witha commonsubstrate in the programminglanguage Lisp. The initial aim of the project was to demonstrate how the combination of these three technologies could be used to build a virtual multicomputer {u2014} an ephemeral, persistent machine of available heterogeneous computing resources {u2014} for large scale symbolic applications . The system would support a virtual processor abstraction to distribute data and tasks across the multicomputer, the actual physical composition of which may change dynamically. Our practical objective was to assist in the prototyping of dynamic distributed symbolic app- cations in arti?cial intelligence using whatever resources are available (probably networked workstations), so that the developed program could also be run on more exotic hardware without reprogramming. What we had not foreseen at the outset of the project was how agents would unify the strands at the application level, as distinct from the system level o- lined above. It was as a result of the agent in?uence that we held two workshops in May and December 1997 with the title ?Collaboration between human and arti?cial societies?. The papers collected in this volume are a selection from presentations made at those two workshops. In each case the format consisted of a number of invited speakers plus presentations from the network partners Front Matter....Pages - Front Matter....Pages 1-1 A Classification of Various Approaches for Object-Based Parallel and Distributed Programming....Pages 3-29 Towards Meta-Agent Protocols....Pages 30-42 Examples of Fuzziness in Compilers and Runtime Systems....Pages 43-61 Towards Rigorous Compiler Implementation Verification....Pages 62-73 Shifting the Focus from Control to Communication: the STReams OBjects Environments Model of Communicating Agents....Pages 74-101 Direct Manipulation, Scalability and the Internet....Pages 102-112 Front Matter....Pages 113-113 Towards the Abstraction and Generalization of Actor-Based Architectures in Diagnostic Reasoning....Pages 115-131 Converting Declarative into Procedural (and Vice Versa)....Pages 132-141 Reflective Reasoning in a Case-Based Reasoning Agent....Pages 142-158 Modelling Rational Inquiry in Non-ideal Agents....Pages 159-181 On the Process of Making Descriptive Rules....Pages 182-197 Front Matter....Pages 199-199 A Service-Oriented Negotiation Model between Autonomous Agents....Pages 201-219 Competing Software Agents Support Human Agents....Pages 220-233 Coordination Developed by Learning from Evaluations....Pages 234-245 Rules of Order for Electronic Group Decision Making – A Formalization Methodology....Pages 246-263 Broadway: A Case-Based System for Cooperative Information Browsing on the World-Wide-Web....Pages 264-283 Towards a Formal Specification of Complex Social Structures in Multi-agent Systems....Pages 284-300 Back Matter....Pages - This book documents scientific work presented initially during two workshops held within the HCM network project VIM - a virtual multicomputer for symbolic applications. The revised full papers presented in the book have gone through a process of thorough post-workshop reviewing. They are organized in sections on languages and systems, agents and capabilities, and coordination and collaboration