AI Magazine Volume 18 Number 3 (1997) (© AAAI) Workshop Report search presented at the workshop Intelligent Adaptive Agents according to conceptual and system- atic criteria. A Highlight of the Field and the What Is an Agent? AAAI-96 Workshop Because the workshop presented diverse definitions of what an adap- tive agent is, a discussion on the defi- Ibrahim F. Imam and Yves Kodratoff nition of an agent, a society of agents, and an intelligent agent was also an important part of the workshop. Some issues that are typically discussed in ■ There is a great dispute among The Workshop on Intelligent Adap- defining any agent were found less researchers about the roles, characteris- tive Agents, part of the Thirteenth important than previously believed, tics, and specifications of what are called National Conference on Artificial agents, intelligent agents, and adaptive especially when clearly differentiating Intelligence (AAAI-96), presented between an agent and a procedure. agents. Most research in the field focuses state-of-the-art approaches, ideas, and on methodologies for solving specific Some of the main reasons for the methodologies for research and devel- problems (for example, communica- multiplicity of definitions of an agent opment of intelligent adaptive agents. tions, cooperation, architectures), and include the focus on the source of The workshop consisted of two invit- little work has been accomplished to input to the agent (or the way the ed talks, presented by Brian Gaines highlight and distinguish the field of agent interacts with the outside intelligent agents. As a result, more and and Barbara Hayes-Roth; four discus- world), the focus on the functions of more research is cataloged as research on sion sessions, organized and chaired the agent (which in many cases are intelligent agents. Therefore, it was nec- by John Laird, Sandip Sen, Costas not dynamic), and the role of the essary to bring together researchers Tsatsoulis, and Kerstin Voigt; two agent as a part of a multiagent society working in the field to define initial commentary evaluations, presented (no clear boundaries or characteristics boundaries, criteria, and acceptable by Yves Kodratoff and Brad Whitehall; characteristics of the field. The Work- distinguish a complex agent from a and 10 papers, presented by Keith shop on Intelligent Adaptive Agents, society of agents). We present here Decker, Karen Haigh, Ibrahim Imam, presented as part of the Thirteenth abstract definitions of the terms agent, John Laird, Ramiro Liscano, Daniela National Conference on Artificial Intelli- intelligent agent, and society of agents. gence, addressed these issues as well as Rus, Sandip Sen, Rahul Sukthankar, Based on the assumption that any many others that are presented in this Kerstin Voight, and Grace Yee. article. Intelligence, adaptation, and agency agent is a black box, a multiagent soci- are three terms with no standard defi- ety is a group of agents that operate f we were to ask 10 researchers from nitions accepted by researchers in the independently in a cooperative or a different organizations or institu- AI community. Defining the scope of competitive environment. The term Itions what their personal definition the AAAI-96 workshop and under- independently is used here to stress that of an intelligent agent is, we would standing these terms are two associat- although agents in the society might most likely get 8 to 10 different ed issues. In general, the workshop serve each other, their objective answers. Moreover, if a researcher or focused on research involving the should not be limited to the service of any curious person wanted to learn three issues together or in different another agent. For example, a struc- about intelligent agents, he/she might combinations. For example, the scope ture of processes where each process get confused after reading even a few of the workshop covered research and depends on other processes to accom- papers of the hundreds that were development on intelligent adaptive plish its task should be considered as a recently published on agency-related methodologies for agents and intelli- single complex agent with subprocess- subjects. Reasons for this confusion gent agents that behave adaptively. es rather than as a society of agents. include the following: First, there is no The definition of these terms were dis- A single agent is a system or a standard definition of what an intelli- cussed in some presentations as well machine (entity description) that pro- gent agent is. (Today, almost anything as some discussion sessions. A summa- vides assistance to the user (objective can be called an agent and, typically, ry of these discussions is presented in description). Describing the entity and an intelligent agent). Second, no clear the next section. The research present- the objective constitutes a sufficiently goals or objectives for the agent (for ed at the workshop can be classified abstract definition of an agent. An example, the functions of the agent according to varying criteria. These autonomous vehicle can be considered vary from implicit to explicit, system- criteria and a classification of the an agent because it can provide trans- atic-mechanic to environmental, sys- papers are presented in the following portation to the user. An information tem requirement to user requirement, section. A brief description of the talks navigator system can be considered an simple to complex). Third, the agent- presented at the workshop is described agent because it searches and retrieves user relationship is either missing or in a later section. The last section information for the user. A robot agent vague. introduces a classification of the re- can observe the external world and Copyright © 1997, American Association for Artificial Intelligence. All rights reserved. 0738-4602-1997 / $2.00 FALL 1997 75 Workshop Report inform the user about its observation. lem-solving scenario is considered of whose outcome can be processed or Such agents can retrieve their informa- no importance when modeling an used to accomplish another task. tion from a variety of sources, but their intelligent agent. Also, it is difficult to Examples of such tasks include retriev- common objective is to serve the user. judge whether an agent is intelligent ing information or knowledge about a Defining an intelligent agent by observing its external actions subject of interest to the user and allo- requires defining the methodology (behavior). An interesting approach for cating an appropriate web page rele- used by the agent. An intelligent agent distinguishing intelligent agents can vant to a given query. is a system or a machine that utilizes be based on the relationship between Third is the intermediate task, which inferential or complex computational the external actions (behavior) and the specifies a general requirement needed methodologies to perform the set of internal adaptation recognized in to accomplish other tasks. Examples of tasks of interest to the user. These some workshop presentations. such tasks include learning or discov- methodologies should enhance the The workshop audience also raised ering knowledge from data, planning agent’s capabilities to learn. This defi- an interesting set of questions about a course of action, and determining a nition distinguishes between intelli- the definition of an agent: What isn’t list of web pages to be searched for rel- gent agents in general and nonintelli- an agent? Do we consider the search evant information. gent adaptive agents. An example of for a word or the word-count routines Our view of what isn’t an agent also an adaptive agent that is not intelli- in a word processor program as agents? includes systems or machines that per- gent is the irrigation agent. The irriga- Why don’t we consider animals that form intermediate tasks. In real life, tion agent is a robot that irrigates a assist handicapped or other people as agents that perform generic tasks are green house based on a simple equa- agents? Following Sherlock Holmes’s less popular than agents that perform tion involving the humidity and tem- strategy, we started eliminating the master tasks. Now to specify our perature inside the green house. Such improbable to reach the accurate. The abstract definition of what an agent is, an agent can irrigate the green house first issue is that as long as we are lim- we propose a more concrete definition: different number of times at different ited by the boundaries of computer sci- A single agent is a system or a machine hours during each day. The external ence, agents are either computer sys- that can accomplish master or generic actions of the agent surely reflect tems or machines using computerized tasks that are of interest to the user. adaptive behavior; however, the agent systems. The second and most confus- cannot be considered intelligent ing issue is associated with the term A Summary of Issues (some researchers, however, consider assistance in most agent definitions. it to be intelligent). We can always claim that any comput- Discussed at the Workshop Another way to describe the differ- er program, system, or machine pro- Considering a clear understanding of ence between intelligent and nonintel- vides assistance to the user in one way what an agent is, the workshop ligent agents is by the degree of free- or another. At the workshop, we agreed focused on the adaptive process and dom the agent has when accom- that a word-count routine is an agent its characteristics in intelligent adap- plishing the given task. In other words, (but not an intelligent agent). Also, to tive agents. Intelligent adaptation in the agent should have more flexibility call a system or a machine an agent, it agents was characterized by many in controlling the way it accomplishes should be designed to serve the user. themes, including the goal, the cause, a task independent of any changes in To clarify further, we associate what the systematic architecture, and the the environment.