What is Software Agent

1
What is Software Agent?

• What is Agent?
• Agent Technology
• Agent Taxonomy
• Agent vs. Object
• Applications to Communication

2
What is Agent?

• Agent
• 4 one who is authorized to act for or in the
  place of another as
• a a representative, emissary, or official of a
  government
• b one engaged in undercover activities
• c a business representative (as of an athlete or
  entertainer)

Websters Collegiate Dictionary 10th Edition
3
Agent Technology
Programmed Cooperation
Software Agent
Autonomous Persistent Objects
Introducing Computer Media
4
Definition of Agent

• An agent is a computer system that is situated in
  some environment, and that is capable of
  autonomous action in this environment in order to
  meet its design objectives.
• Autonomy means that agents are able to act
  without the intervention of humans or other
  systems they have control both over their own
  internal state, and over their behavior.

Multiagent Systems, edited by Gerhard Weiss,
1999
5
Intelligent Agent

• An intelligent agent is one that is capable of
  flexible autonomous action in order to meet its
  design objectives.

6
Flexibility

• Reactivity intelligent agents are able to
  perceive their environment, and respond in a
  timely fashion to changes that occur in it.
• Pro-activity intelligent agents are able to
  exhibit goal-directed behavior by taking the
  initiative.
• Social ability intelligent agents are capable of
  interacting with other agents (and possibly
  humans).
• Achieving an effective balance between
  goal-directed and reactive behavior is hard.

7
Aspects of Software Agent

• Represents users, services, and information
  sources in a network environment.
• Represents different organizations or
  individuals.
• Extends the limit of human capacity for
  information processing
• Bridges the gap between the ever-expanding
  information on the networks and the constant
  human capacity

8
Agent Taxonomy

• Interface agent
• An agent that supports its user(s) in fulfilling
  certain tasks.
• An interface agent may hide the complexity of a
  difficult task, train and teach a human user, and
  perform sub-tasks on a users behalf.
• Network agent
• Mobile agent
• Conversational agent

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Mobile Agent
Server
Server
User
Server
Mobile code travelling from server to server
Server
Effective in environments with disconnected
operations
10
History of Mobile Agent

• Advent of Telescript from General Magic
• Focused on telephone-based services
• Cannot cope with Internet and open world
• Java-based framework
• Odyssey from General Magic
• Concordia from Mitsubishi
• Aglets from IBM
• Plangent from Toshiba

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Conversational Agent
Server
Server
User
Server
Conversational agents cooperate by exchanging
messages
Server
ACL Agent Communication Language
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Characteristics of Conversational Agent

• Loose connection between agents
• Agent requests by specifying not a procedure but
  a desired state in a declarative language
• Procedures are encapsulated
• System architecture consisting of components of
  different owners
• Flexible to updates on agents
• Suitable for information integration over networks

13
Agent vs. Object

• Agent is an extension of object
• Interaction with messages
• Agent - Object Autonomy (Discretion)
• Object-oriented paradigm
• Objects invoke methods upon one-another
• Implementations of methods are encapsulated
• In principle all the objects are definite when
  the system design is complete

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Objects

• Objects have control over their own internal
  state by declaring instance variables (and
  methods) to be private.
• Objects does not have control over their behavior
  once they have made a method public.

15
Agents as opposed to Objects

• Agents request actions to be performed.
• The decision about whether to execute an action
  lies with the agent that receives the request.
• Each agent is assumed to have at least one thread
  of control.

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Applications to Communication

• Filtering e-mail
• SIFT (Simple Information Filtering Service) from
  Bellcore
• Maxims from MIT Media Lab
• Communication service for PDAs
• Telescript and Magic Cap
• Selecting best communication means
• Personal agents for individual users

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Diversity of Communication Means

• You need to know
• Where the other party is
• What kinds of communication terminals he/she uses
• Personal agents
• Support
• Movement of human users
• Change of terminals
• Hide differences of networks and terminals

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Personal Agent for Communication

• Each personal agent manages information of its
  master user
• Communication is possible without knowing
  differences of networks and terminals

Personal
Personal
Agent
Agent
Resource Managers
Internet
Telephone Network
Mobile network