131 research outputs found
Towards XMAS: eXplainability through Multi-Agent Systems
No full textIn the context of the Internet of Things (IoT), intelligent systems (IS) are increasingly relying on Machine Learning (ML) techniques. Given the opaqueness of most ML techniques, however, humans have to rely on their intuition to fully understand the IS outcomes: helping them is the target of eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI). Current solutions – mostly too specific, and simply aimed at making ML easier to interpret – cannot satisfy the needs of IoT, characterised by heterogeneous stimuli, devices, and data-types concurring in the composition of complex information structures. Moreover, Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) achievements and advancements are most often ignored, even when they could bring about key features like explainability and trustworthiness. Accordingly, in this paper we (i) elicit and discuss the most significant issues affecting modern IS, and (ii) devise the main elements and related interconnections paving the way towards reconciling interpretable and explainable IS using MAS
Computable Law as Argumentation-based MAS
No full textIn this paper we sketch a vision of computable law as argumentation-based MAS, i.e., human-centred intelligent systems densely populated by agents (software or human) capable of understanding, arguing, and reporting, via factual assertions and arguments, about what is happening and what they can make possibly happen. A multi-agent system based on argumentation, dialogue, and conversation is, in this vision, the basis for making the law computable: through argumentation, dialogue, and adherence to social judgment, the behaviour of the intelligent system can be reached, shaped and controlled with respect to the law. In such a scenario, computable law – and related intelligent behaviour – is likely to become associated with the capability of arguing about situations and about the current state and situation, by reaching a consensus on what is happening around and what is needed, and by triggering and orchestrating proper decentralised semantic conversations to decide how to collectively act in order to reach a future desirable state. Interpretability and explainability become important features of such a system based on the integration of logic-based and sub-symbolic techniques. Within this novel setting, MAS methodologies and technologies become the starting point to achieve computable law, even if they need to be adapted and extended for dealing with arising challenges.
Accordingly, in this paper, we discuss how such a novel vision can build upon some readily available technologies, and the research challenges it poses. We analyse a number of approaches and technologies that should be involved in the engineering of systems and services and should have to become core expertise for distributed systems engineering. Among the others, these include knowledge representation, machine learning, logic argumentation
Neuro-symbolic Computation for XAI: Towards a Unified Model
No full textThe idea of integrating symbolic and sub-symbolic approaches to make intelligent systems (IS) understandable and explainable is at the core of new fields such as neuro-symbolic computing (NSC). This work lays under the umbrella of NSC, and aims at a twofold objective. First, we present a set of guidelines aimed at building explainable IS, which leverage on logic induction and constraints to integrate symbolic and sub-symbolic approaches. Then, we reify the proposed guidelines into a case study to show their effectiveness and potential, presenting a prototype built on the top of some NSC technologies
Object (B)logging: a Semantic-Based Self-Description for Cyber-Physical Systems
No full textPervasive computing deals with heterogeneous mobile agents attached to ubiquitous micro-devices. In such scenarios, what one agent knows about the environment is based on perception components it uses or has access to, and it can be significantly different from another agent's knowledge. Furthermore, transient conditions and uncertainty affects perceptions and communication, aggravating the need to cope with the lack of complete and reliable information. Current solutions in the Internet of Things (IoT) are mostly based on centralized data collection and analysis and on top-down agent orchestration, with obvious limitations in latency, connection availability and data confidentiality.
This thesis proposes a novel distributed knowledge-based framework named object (b)logging to tackle the above issues. The approach is conceived as a general-purpose evolution of the IoT, able to associate semantic annotations to real-world objects and events as well as to trigger complex objects choreography through advanced resource discovery. It envisions several smart entities organized in social networks, interacting autonomously and sharing information, cooperating and orchestrating resources through a published micro-blog. Ontology-referred context annotations produced and shared by individual smart objects in mobile ad-hoc networks are merged by means of novel Concept Fusion and enhanced Concept Integration reasoning services in Description Logics, specifically devised for context-aware multi-agent systems and tailored to resource-constrained devices. Management of incomplete information, reconciliation of inconsistencies in context descriptions, quick adaptation to changes and robustness against spurious or inaccurate information allow to progressively enrich a node's core knowledge in a private micro-log. Then it becomes able to identify on-the-fly the task(s) needed to change its own configuration or the environment state and automatically infer what useful capabilities it can provide to or needs from other entities in order to enact them, in a decentralized and collaborative fashion. A novel semantic-enhanced blockchain infrastructure underlies the dissemination, discovery and selection of services and resources. These tasks have been revisited as smart contracts with opportunistic and distributed execution, exploiting validation by consensus. The introduced paradigm ideally applies to pervasive cyber-physical systems, where several mobile heterogeneous micro-devices cooperate to connote and modify appropriately the environment they are dipped in, as demonstrated by relevant case studies and extensive experimental evaluations
Introduction to the Special Issue: The AgentLink III Technical Forums
No full textThis article introduces the special issue of ACM Transactions on Autonomous and Adaptive Systems devoted to research papers arising from the three Technical Forum Group meetings held in 2004 and 2005 that were organized and sponsored by the European FP6 Coordination Action AgentLink III
2P-Kt: logic programming with objects & functions in Kotlin
No full textMainstream programming languages nowadays tends to be more and more multi-paradigm ones, by integrating diverse programming paradigms—e.g., object-oriented programming (OOP) and functional programming (FP). Logic-programming (LP) is a successful paradigm that has contributed to many relevant results in the areas of symbolic AI and multi-agent systems, among the others. Whereas Prolog, the most successful LP language, is typically integrated with mainstream languages via foreign language interfaces, in this paper we propose an alternative approach based on the notion of domain-specific language (DSL), which makes LP available to OOP programmers straightforwardly within their OO language of choice. In particular, we present a Kotlin DSL for Prolog, showing how the Kotlin multi-paradigm (OOP + FP) language can be enriched with LP in a straightforward and effective way. Since it is based on the interoperable 2P-Kt project, our technique also enables the creation of similar DSL on top of other high-level languages such as Scala or JavaScript—thus paving the way towards a more general adoption of LP in general-purpose programming environments
2nd International Workshop "Theory and Practice of Open Computational Systems" (TAPOCS 2004)
No full text2nd International workshop on
THEORY AND PRACTICE OF OPEN COMPUTATIONAL SYSTEMS (TAPOCS)
http://www.soclab.bth.se/workshops/tapocs2004
at
13th IEEE International workshops on
ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES: INFRASTRUCTURES FOR COLLABORATIVE ENTERPRISES (WETICE)
http://siplab.csee.wvu.edu/wetice04
in
MODENA - ITALY - 2004.06.14 / 16
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Focus of the international workshop on Theory and practice of open computational systems (TAPOCS) is methodological issues and approaches related to complex information systems research and development.
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--- B A C K G R O U N D
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Open computational systems can be conceived as complex and dynamic structures of autonomous entities - human and software - that by means of distributed interactions - taking place over both space and time - strive to uphold some global system coherence, mission, and goal. The application domain typically involves collaborative and competitative systems that try to survive and sustain some particular behavior as long as possible, using evolving structures and shared awareness. Examples of such systems include, but are not limited to, dependable infrastructures, networked enterprises, electronic health care, and network centric warfare.
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--- T H E M E
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The workshop emphasizes the interplay between methodological theory and practice of open computational systems as well as its impact on our ability to control and sustain the behavior of such systems. It is therefore important that we develop methodological instruments - frameworks, theories, models, platforms, and tools - that explicitly address system qualities such as control and sustainability of behavior. As such, these instruments should aim at support for both scientists and engineers in their everyday work with experiments and applications of open computational systems.
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--- T O P I C S
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The workshop intends to bring together researchers and practitioners in the theoretical and practical domain of open computational systems, in order to discuss current issues, approaches, applications, and trends. In particular, the workshop encourages contributions that address the following topics:
[ theory ] - frameworks
[ theory ] - theories
[ theory ] - models
[ practice ] - platforms
[ practice ] - tools
[ practice ] - systems
[ qualities ] - control
[ qualities ] - sustainability
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--- O R G A N I Z I N G C O M M I T T E E
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Martin Fredriksson ([email protected])
Blekinge institute of technology
Sweden
Rune Gustavsson ([email protected])
Blekinge institute of technology
Sweden
Alessandro Ricci ([email protected])
Università di Bologna a Cesena
Italy
Andrea Omicini ([email protected])
Università di Bologna a Cesena
Ital
Blockchain for Trustworthy Coordination: A First Study with LINDA and Ethereum
No full textBlockchain technologies are rapidly gaining attention in the multi-agent systems (MAS) community to face critical issues such as trust, secured communications, and data consistency. In particular, the notion of smart contract can be exploited to deploy trustworthy computations automatically executed by the network in a consistent way. MAS coordination - modelling and engineering of agents interaction in a MAS - thus represents an appealing application field for smart contracts, potentially enabling fully-decentralised, trustworthy coordination. Along this line, we focus on the Ethereum blockchain technology, map it onto LINDA tuple-based coordination model, and discuss two proof-of-concept implementations of LINDA on Ethereum. We hence demonstrate conceptual and technical feasibility of blockchain-based coordination in MAS, while emphasising issues of applying the blockchain beyond accountability and identity management
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