Workpackage 2: Norms

www.agreement-technologies.org

WP2 (Norms): The Problem

How to specify normative systems to regulate MAS,

so that they may be properly implemented and one may reason about them

WP2: The problemRegulated MAS

Declarative vs. procedural specification of conventions•Higher level abstraction•Richer governance models•Dynamic conventions

Reason about the norms•Designer of the MAS / individual participant•Offline / Online

Language:•Expressiveness•Computational model (proof thy.)

Implementation

WP 2 Norms: Tasks

• T2.1Computable Language for Normative Systems (Carles Sierra)Dedication 40-20-9

• T2.2 Individual Reasoning about a Normative System (Pablo Noriega)Dedication 40-6-9

• T2.3 Declarative specification of Electronic Institutions (Marc Esteva)Dedication 40-6-9

T2.1: Objective

Design and implement a practical machine executable language

for specifying norm regulated MASthat may be used by

MAS designers as well as participating agentsto reason about the normative system itself.

Task 2.1: Content

A Computable Language for Normative

Systems

• Expressiveness – Typical norms: facts, deontic modalities, conditions, associated actions,

temporal features,...– Other normative features: authority, jurisdiction, hierarchy, conflict

resolution policies, ...

• Practical to implement and use

• Reason about norms– Convenient semantics & proof theory

Task 2.1 Activities

• A study of normative temporal logics– Formal properties– Operational semantics

• NTL-based language for normative systems

• Model checking and other proof theoretic tools for NTL-languages

• Reasoning about norms

• Examples of normative systems

T2.1 Workplan

• Phase 1: Identify needs and available technologies. Choose best features for a computable NTL-based language– Study of NTLs and relevant proof-theoretic mechanisms– Expressiveness requirements for normative systems– Desiderata for a system that supports reasoning about norms

D2.1.1 A NTL primer (18 R)

• Phase 2: Design and implementation of a normative languageD2.1.2 A machine readable language for norms (24 R)

• Phase 3: Construction and use of actual normative systemsD2.1.3 Implementation of actual normative systems (40; 54 R&S)

T2.2: Objective

Propose an agent architecture for agents that

deliberate about their norm aware behaviour

within a norm regulated social system

T2.2 Content

Individual Reasoning About a Normative System

• Individual reasoning perspectivesIntrospective outlook (adopting, breaking a norm) vs pro-social outlook (social conformance, negotiation, group deliberation)

• Agent architectures to deliberate about norms

• Individuals reasoning off-lineHow to know what one is supposed to do and not to do.

Criteria for norm compliance.Adapting behaviour to comply with rules.

• Individuals reasoning on-lineDeciding when to infringe or comply with a norm.Adapting to the social environment

Adopting evolving normative requirements

T2.2: Activities

• An agent architecture to reason about norms and actions.– BDI+Commit (context logics)+T2.1 language

• Evaluating norm adoption and compliance from an individual agent’s perspective: – Graded commitments.– Values, preferences and motivation– Coherence, cognitive dissonance.

• Reasoning about norms within society (adapting, conforming, defaulting and transgressing)

– Peer-pressure and individual profiling – Argumentation, persuasive actions, sanctions– Collective decision-making (Game-theoretic models-judgement aggregation)

• Prototyping and deployment of agent populations in EIs

T2.2 Workplan

• Phase 1: An architecture for morally enabled agents.– Study and choice of relevant modalities, inference and coherence-

maintenance mechanisms– Public and private moral-reasoning features (values, preferences, moral

awareness,...)– Normative state

• D2.2.1 A BDI+C agent architecture (18 R)

• Phase 2: Introspective reasoning about norms (adoption, compliance and infringement)

D2.2.2 Norm adoption models from a subjective perspective (24 R)

• Phase 3: Morally enabled agents in a norm-regulated EI.D2.2.3 An implementation of BDI+C agent societies in EIs (40; 54 R&SW)

T2.3 Objective

Executable Norm-regulated Electronic

Institutions

T2.3 Content (1)

Commitment Management• Commitment consistency.

Can commitments be fulfilled?

• Reasoning at design and at run-time.

• Dynamic and concurrent commitment acquisition and

fulfilment.

• Centralised versus distributed commitment management

• Global (institution) and local (agent) fulfilment.

T2.3 Content (2)

Declarative language• Expressiveness requirements for interaction conventions specification

• Mapping of the current EI procedural specification into the declarative

language.

• More flexible specification, control and enforcement of the institutional

rules.

T2.3 Content (3)

Declarative language Integration • Consistency between the declarative and procedural specifications.

• Realisability of a declarative specification.

• Updating of conventions at run-time. (Related to Autonomic Electronic

Institutions)

• Reasoning about conventions at design and run-time.

T2.3 Activities

• Dynamic commitment management model

• Integration of the declarative language with the

current procedural specification of institutions.

• Extension of EIDE platform.

T2.3 Workplan

Phase 1: A dynamic commitment management model – Analysis of how commitments propagate– Commitment conflict management

D2.1A dynamic commitment management model (12 R)

Phase 2: Integration between procedural and declarative specifications

D2.3.2 A norm-based extended EI model. Month (24 R)

Phase 3: Extension of EIDE to support the commitment models and declarative-procedural specifications.

D2.3.3 Declarative-procedural specification of EIs. (40 R&S)

WP2: T-Relationships

T2.1Language for Norms

T2.1Language for Norms

T2.3Declarative

EIs

T2.3Declarative

EIs

T2.2Normative

Agents

T2.2Normative

Agents

WP2: T-Relationships

T2.1Language for Norms

T2.1Language for Norms

T2.3Declarative

EIs

T2.3Declarative

EIs

T2.2Normative

Agents

T2.2Normative

Agents

WP6 Tool SuiteWP7. InfrastructureWP8. Real Case Studies

WP6 Tool SuiteWP7. InfrastructureWP8. Real Case Studies

WP2: T-Relationships

T2.1Language for Norms

T2.1Language for Norms

T2.3Declarative

EIs

T2.3Declarative

EIs

T2.2Normative

Agents

T2.2Normative

Agents

T3.3Deliberative Agreement

T3.1Autonomic EIs

T3.43·D EIs

T3.5Mechanisms for Teamwork

T3.2Group Planning

WP2: T-Relationships

T2.1Language for Norms

T2.1Language for Norms

T2.3Declarative

EIs

T2.3Declarative

EIs

T2.2Normative

Agents

T2.2Normative

Agents

T5.1 Dynamic Trust Alignment

T4.1Agreement Logics

T4.2Real-time Agreements

T4.4Planning & scheduling

T4.3CBR Mediating

WP2: T-Relationships

T2.1Language for Norms

T2.3Declarative

EIs

WP6 Tool SuiteWP7. InfrastructureWP8. Real Case Studies

WP6 Tool SuiteWP7. InfrastructureWP8. Real Case Studies

T5.1 Dynamic Trust Alignment

T3.3Deliberative Agreement

T3.1Autonomic EIs

T3.43·D EIs

T3.5Mechanisms for Teamwork

T3.2Group Planning

T4.1Agreement Logics

T4.2Real-time Agreements

T4.4Planning & scheduling

T4.3CBR Mediating

T2.2Normative

Agents