Organizations
as Socially Constructed Agents
in the Agent Oriented Paradigm
Guido Boella
Leon van der Torre
Complexity in OO (Booch, 1988)
1. “Decomposition: the most basic technique for
tackling any large problem is to divide it into
smaller, more manageable chunks each of
which can then be dealt with in relative
isolation.
2. Abstraction: the process of defining a simplified
model of the system that emphasizes some of
the details or properties.
3. Organization: the process of identifying and
managing interrelationships between various
problem solving components.” (coor,dbc,sla)
Complexity in MAS
• Agent cannot be decomposed in agents?
• Aggregation: groups and organizations
• How to define decomposition in MAS?
• MAS as organization and decomposition?
• Success criteria: control, communication
Our Approach
• Normative multiagent systems
• Agents attribute mental attitudes (Dennett):
– to other agents and
– to socially constructed agents (counts as):
• groups, roles, normative systems, organizations
• SC agents can create new SC agents
– Compare SC agents to legal persons
• SC agents can attribute mental attitudes
– For example, to define roles
MAS
Control
• Sub-goals over functional areas / roles
– Goals role are responsibilities of agent in role
– Goals with violations express also obligations
• Beliefs over functional areas / roles
– Know how, statutes, manuals
– Security, privacy of information
– “Counts as” institutional relations (iterated!)
• Actions of SC agents (via real agents)
– Dynamics of normative systems
Communication
• Explicit how organization changes
– Institutionalized patterns of interaction
• Communication actions of SC agents
– Iterated “counts as”, changes in organization
– Documents record communication
– Regulated by contracts
• Role communication
– Distinguished from agent-playing-role comm.
Summary
• Agents can be decomposed into agents
– but only socially constructed agents!
• Control: normative multiagent systems
• Communication: effects explicit in system
• Construction of social reality
– Functional areas & roles only if is organization
– Organization restructures itself
Further Research
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Design by contract
Service level agreements & architecture
Assignment of agents to roles
Use multiagent model for simulation
– Advantage over OO
• How to achieve it without mental attitudes?
– Use the model for programming languages