- ARGUGRID Flyer
[ July 2008 ]
Papers from:2009, 2008, 2007, 2006
- Automated Workflows Using Dialectical Argumentation
J. McGinnis, S. Bromuri, V. Urovi, K. Stathis
German e-Science Conference March 2007, Baden-Baden, Germany.
Abstract: This paper presents a framework for dynamic workflow creation and execution developed as part of ARGUGRID, a collaborative project that seeks to provide a new model for programming the Grid at a semantic, knowledge-based level of abstraction through the use of argumentative agent technology. In this framework, workflow selection is coordinated by agent interactions based upon a dialogue game that allows agents to argue about workflows and their properties. - Argumentation-based decision making for selecting communication services in ambient home environments.
Morge, M and Mancarella P.
Proc. of the Symposium on Artificial Societies for Ambient Intelligence (ASAMI), April, 2007, Newcastle University, UK
Abstract: We propose here an Argumentation Framework (AF) for decision making in order to select services in ambient environments. A logic language is used as a concrete data structure for holding the statements like knowledge, goals, and actions. Different priorities are attached to these items. These concrete data structures consist of information providing the backbone of arguments. In this way, our AF selects some services but also provides an interactive and intelligible explanation of the choices. - Conflict-free normative agents using assumption-based argumentation.
D. Gaertner, F. Toni
Proceedings Fourth International Workshop on Argumentation in Multi-Agent Systems (ArgMAS 2007), May 2007, Honolulu, USA
Abstract: Argumentation can serve as a useful abstraction for various agent activities and in particular for agent reasoning. In this paper we further support this claim by mapping a form of normative BDI agents onto assumption-based argumentation. By way of this mapping we equip our agents with the capability of resolving conflicts amongst norms, beliefs, desires and intentions. This conflict resolution is achieved by using the agent's preferences, represented in a variety of formats. We illustrate the mapping with examples and use an existing computational tool for assumption-based argumentation, the CaSAPI system, to animate conflict resolution within our agents. - CaSAPI: a system for credulous and sceptical argumentation.
D. Gaertner, F. Toni
Proceedings LPNMR-Workshop on Argumentation and Non-Monotonic Reasoning (ArgNMR07), May 2007, Tempe, Arizona, USA.
Abstract: We present the CaSAPI system, implementing (a generalisation of) three existing computational mechanisms for determining argumentatively whether potential beliefs can be deemed to be acceptable and, if so, for computing supports for them. These mechanisms are defined in terms of dialectical disputes amongst two fictional agents: a proponent agent, eager to determine the acceptability of the beliefs, and an opponent agent, trying to undermine the existence of an acceptable support for the beliefs, by finding attacks against it that the proponent needs to counter-attack in turn. The three mechanisms differ in the level of scepticism of the proponent agent and are defined for (flat) assumption-based argumentation frameworks. Thus, they can serve as decision-making mechanisms for all instances of these frameworks. In this paper we show how they can be used for logic programming, legal reasoning, practical reasoning, and agent reasoning. - Infinitesimal Nash Transfers for Resource Allocation in Strong Social Alliances.
P.-A. Matt and F. Toni
In Proceedings of the 2007 International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems, May 2007, Honolulu, Hawai, USA.
Abstract: We introduce a distributed and tractable mechanism for the allocation of continuously divisible resources to agents, that locally maximises the (Nash) product of their individual welfare. The mechanism involves specific m-resources-at-a-time multilateral deals over bits of resources, termed infinitesimal Nash transfers. It provides an effective way of building “strong social alliances”, where in a social alliance agents fully cooperate for the global interest of society, and a strong social alliance has near-optimal utilitarian and egalitarian social welfare, as understood in social choice and welfare economics. The mechanism is scalable, can be distributed amongst agents and can be used to support, e.g., fair trade. - The hedgehog and the fox. An argumentation-based decision support system
Morge, M and Mancarella P.
Proc. of the Quatrième Journées Francophones Modèles Formels de l'Interaction (MFI 2007), May 2007, Paris, France.
Abstract: We present here a Decision Support System (DSS). For this purpose, we propose an Argumentation Framework for practical reasoning. A logic language is used as a concrete data structure for holding the statements like knowledge, goals, and actions. Different priorities are attached to these items corresponding to the reliability of the knowledge, the preferences between goals, and the expected utilities of alternatives. These concrete data structures consist of information providing the backbone of arguments. Due to the abductive nature of practical reasoning, we build arguments by reasoning backwards. Moreover, arguments are defined as tree-like structures. In this way, our DSS suggests some solutions and provides an interactive and intelligible explanation of the choices. - The hedgehog and the fox. An argumentation-based decision support system
Morge, M and Mancarella P.
Proc. of the Fourth International Workshop on Argumentation in Multi-Agent Systems (ArgMAS 2007), p 55-68, In Conjunction with AAMAS 2007, May 2007, Honolulu, Hawai, USA.
Abstract: We present here a Decision Support System (DSS) with the help of a use-case for electing a business location. This computer system is built upon a concrete argumentation framework for practical reasoning. A logic language is used as a concrete data structure for holding the statements like knowledge, goals, and actions. Different priorities are attached to these items corresponding to the likelihood of the knowledge, the preferences between goals, and the credibility of alternative actions. These concrete data structures consist of information providing the backbone of arguments. Due to the abductive nature of decision making, we built arguments by reasoning backwards. Moreover, arguments are defined as tree-like structures. In this way, our DSS evaluates the possible actions, suggests some solutions, and provides an interactive and intelligible explanation of the choice made. - Debating over heterogeneous descriptions
Morge, M and J.C. Routier
Proc. of the Quatrième Journées Francophones Modèles Formels de l'Interaction (MFI 2007), May 2007, Paris, France
Abstract: A fundamental interoperability problem is caused by the semantic heterogeneity of agents'ontologies in open multiagent systems. In this paper, we propose a formal framework for agents debating over heterogeneous terminologies. For this purpose, we propose an argumentation-based representation framework to manage conflicting description. Moreover, we propose a model for the reasoning of agents where they justify the description to which they commit and take into account the description of their interlocutors. Finally, we provide a dialectical system allowing agents to participate in a dialogue in order to reach an agreement over heterogeneous descriptions - A Sound and Complete Dialectical Proof Procedure for Sceptical Preferred Argumentation
P M Dung, P M Thang.
Proceedings LPNMR-Workshop on Argumentation and Non-Monotonic Reasoning (ArgNMR07), May 2007, Arizona, U.S.A
Abstract: The paper presents a sound and complete proof procedure for computing sceptical preferred argumentation. It also presents a schema for developing such procedures. The procedure is an important tool for implementation of ArguGrid agents in wp2. The procedure is also the first dialectical procedure for sceptical preferred argumentation that is both sound and complete. - Towards Characterising Argumentation Based Dialogue in the Argument Interchange Format
S. Modgil and J. McGinnis
In Workshop Proc. Of ArgMAS 2007, May 2007, Hawai US.
Abstract: This document describes a strawman specification for an Argument Interchange Format (AIF) that might be used for data exchange between Argumentation tools or communication in Multi-Agent Systems (MAS). The document started life as a skeleton for contributions from participants in the Technical Forum Group meeting in Budapest in September 2005, receiving also input from third parties. The results were subsequentely improved and added to by online discussion to form a more substantial. In its current form, this document is intended to be a strawman model which serves as a point of discussion for the community rather than an attempt at a definitive, all encompassing model. The hope is that it could provide a useful input to ArgMAS discussion in particular on the utility of common Argumentation Interchange Formats, what form they might take and a potential research / development agenda to help realise them. - Sensor Network Grids: Agent Environments combined with QoS in Wireless Sensor Networks
Kostas Stathis, Stella Kafetzoglou, Symeon Papavassiliou, Stefano Bromuri:
Third International Conference on Autonomic and Autonomous Systems (ICAS07), June 2007, Athens, Greece.
Abstract: June 2007 We present a distributed systems architecture that uses Grid computing to combine basic nodes of wireless sensor networks with complex sensor nodes of wired networks. Three kinds of complex sensor nodes are identified: objects, agents and containers. The decision making capabilities of the complex nodes are then combined with a quality of service (QoS) framework for gathering data from the wireless sensor nodes. The resulting combination provides a powerful conceptual framework for developing ambient intelligence and ubiquitous computing applications on the Grid. - Towards a P2P Discovery Framework for an Argumentative Agent Technology assisted GRID.
Leonidas Lymberopoulos, Stefano Bromuri, Kostas Stathis, Stella Kafetzoglou, Mary Grammatikou and Symeon Papavassiliou.
CoreGRID Workshop on Grid Programming Model, Grid and P2P systems Arhcitectures, Grid Systems, Tools, and Environments. June 2007, Crete, Greece.
Abstract: This paper presents that a Peer to Peer (P2P) networking is a potential disruptive technology that can be used for the development of scalable, fully decentralized distributed applications. However, to realize its potential, P2P technology needs to address the needs of a variety of applications, other than supporting the needs of file-sharing applications, which require support for exact-match queries on the names of the files. In this paper, we describe a P2P framework able to efficiently resolve multiple-attributes and range queries, using the distributed K- Dimensional (K-D) tree structure for organizing shared information among participating peers. The contribution of our work is a novel load balancing algorithm for dynamically keeping the load among peers balanced. This way, our framework guarantees scalable resolution of shared resources, described with K attributes. We demonstrate our work by showing how rich queries encompassing agents and GRID services within an Agent Platform can be supported in order to cater for a class of applications over the GRID, typically demanding range queries on multiple-attributes on distributed resources. Such applications are envisioned to be supported by ARGUGRID, a collaborative project seeking to provide a new model for programming the GRID at a semantic level, using agent-based argumentation techniques - First-Class Protocols for Agent-Based Coordination of Scientific Instruments.
T. Miller, P. McBurney, J. McGinnis, K. Stathis
Proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Agent-based Computing for Enterprise Collaboration: Agent-Oriented Workflows and Services (ACEC 07), June 2007, Paris, France.
Abstract: The coordination of distributed processing is of great interest to a number of research communities. However these research communities, such as those involved in e-science GRIDs and multi-agent systems, view this problem from disparate viewpoints. This paper aims to contribute to the necessary reconciliation of these perspectives. By demonstrating the coordination of processes whether reactive (such as web services) or proactive (such as autonomous agents) can be done with a single representation using a protocol language, RASA. The multi-agent paradigm introduces, into any model of distributed systems, flexibility and autonomy that can be daunting and intimidating to scientists accustomed to more orthodox approaches. It is for this reason that it is important that the model for coordination of this system is reliable, verifiable, inspectable, referable, composable and executable. The language RAS A provides this functionality, which we extend its use for not only agent interaction protocols but also to express workflows. The language for expression then becomes the domain of discourse as well as potentially the language for the workflow's execution. - Experiences in Automated Workflows using Diallectical Argumentation
V. Urovi, S. Bromuri, J. McGinnis, K. Stathis, A. Omicini
In Proc. of Intelligent Systems and Agents 2007, IADIS Multi-Conference, July 2007, Lisbon, Portugal.
Abstract: This paper presents a multi-agent framework based on argumentative agent technology for the automation of the workflow selection and execution. In this framework, workflow selection is coordinated by agent interactions governed by the rules of a dialogue game whose purpose is to evaluate the workflow's properties via argumentation. Once a workflow is selected using this process, the workflow is executed by dynamically configuring workflow engines to coordinate the participating agents' workflow activities. - Competence checking for the global e-service society using games
K.Stathis and G.K.Lekeas and C. Kloukinas
In Proceedings of the 7th Seventh Annual International Workshop on Engineering Societies in the Agents World (ESAW 2006), September 2007, Dublin, Ireland, Springer.
Abstract: We study the problem of checking the competence of communicative agents operating in a global society in order to receive and offer electronic services. Such a society will be composed of local sub-societies that will often be semi-open, viz., entrance of agents in a semi-open society is conditional to specific admission criteria. Assuming that a candidate agent provides an abstract description of their communicative skills, we present a test that a controller agent could perform in order to decide if a candidate agent should be admitted. We formulate this test by revisiting an existing knowledge representation framework based on games specified as normal logic programs. The resulting framework finds useful application in complex and interoperable web-services construed as semi-open societies in support of the global vision known as the Semantic Web. - Vers une architecture modulaire d'agent argumentatif pour la composition de services.
Maxime Morge, Jarred McGinnis, Stefano Bromuri, Francesca Toni, Paolo Mancarella, Kostas Stathis.
Proceedings of the 15me Journes Francophones sur les Systmes Multi-Agents (JFSMA'07), 10 pages, Carcasonne, France.
Abstract: In this paper, we present an argumentative model of agents able to select and compose services in open and distributed environments. For this purpose, we propose a modular agent architecture using three main modules, dedicated, respectively, to decision making, communication, and negotiation. We deploy a simple virtual travel agent example to illustrate how our agents select and compose services, focusing on the functionalities of the modules within the agents. - Situating Cognitive Agents in GOLEM
Stefano Bromuri and Kostas Stathis
EEMMAS 2007, Dresden, Germany, October 2007
Abstract: We investigate the application of a logic-based framework representing an agent environment as a composite structure that evolves over time. Such a complex structure contains the interaction between two main classes of entities: agents and objects. Interactions between these entities are specified in term of events whose occurrence is governed by a set of physical laws specifying the possible evolutions of the environment, including how these evolutions are perceived by agents and affect objects and processes in the environment. We illustrate the work using GOLEM, a prototype platform whose aim is to implement the framework to build situated cognitive agents in a distributed environment. - Toward a Modular Architecture of Argumentative Agents to Compose Services.
Stefano Bromuri, Paolo Mancarella, Jarred McGinnis, Maxime Morge, Kostas Stathis, Francesca Toni
Journées Francophones sur les Systèmes Multi-Agents (JFSMA07), October 2007, Carcassonne, France.
Abstract: In this paper, we present a model of agents which use argumentation to select and compose services in open and distributed environments. For this purpose, we propose a modular agent architecture using three main modules, dedicated, respectively, to decision making, communication, and negotiation. We deploy a simple "virtual" travel agent example to illustrate how our agents select and compose services, focusing on the functionalities of the modules within the agents. - Toward a Modular Architecture of Argumentative Agents to Compose Services.
Maxime Morge, Jarred McGinnis, Stefano Bromuri, Francesca Toni, Paolo Mancarella, Kostas Stathis.
Proceedings of the Fifth European Workshop on Multi-Agent Systems (EUMAS'07), 15 pages, Hammamet, Tunisia 2007.
Abstract: In this paper, we present an argumentative model of agents able to select and compose services in open and distributed environments. For this purpose, we propose a modular agent architecture using three main modules, dedicated, respectively, to decision making, communication, and negotiation. We deploy a simple ``virtual'' travel agent example to illustrate how our agents select and compose services, focusing on the functionalities of the modules within the agents. (COMMENT: this abstract is exactly the same as of Paper-1. It seems like the English version of the French presentation. Is this correct?) - Computing ideal sceptical argumentation
P.M. Dung, P. Mancarella, F. Toni
Articial Intelligence, Special Issue on Argumentation in Artifical Intelligence.
Abstract: We present two dialectic procedures for the sceptical ideal semantics for argumentation. The first procedure is defined in terms of dispute trees, for abstract argumentation frameworks. The second procedure is defined in dialectical terms, for assumption-based argumentation frameworks. The procedures are adapted from (variants of) corresponding procedures for computing the credulous admissible semantics for assumption-based argumentation, proposed in earlier. We prove that the first procedure is sound and complete, and the second procedure is sound in general and complete for a special but natural class of assumption-based argumentation frameworks, that we refer to as p-acyclic. We also prove that in the case of p-acyclic assumption-based argumentation frameworks (a variant of) the procedure for the admissible semantics is complete. Finally, we present a variant of the procedure that is sound for the sceptical grounded semantics.
