PART I: Communication with Purpose

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PART I Communication with Purpose

• AIM
• to get you thinking about the role and purpose of
  communication
• to introduce some of the ideas used to structure
  agent communication

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Dear Dr. Specialist, I have just seen Mrs.
Patient, who is 46, and she is very concerned
about the lump she has in her right breast. The
lump is about 4cm in diameter. She has been aware
of it for five weeks and it is causing her
constant pain. Please will you see Mrs. Patient
urgently about this problem. Thank you, Dr.
Gen-Practitioner
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Speech Act theory language as action
Big names philosophers John L. Austin (1955)
and John R. Searle (1969) Ignored meaning,
instead focussed on what language does. Can you
pass the salt I dont really want to know if
you can pass the salt, I just want you to pass it
to me.
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Speech Act theory
Three parts to a speech act Locution the
actual physical utterance, always in a
context Illocution the conveying of the
speakers intentions to the hearer Perlocutions
the actions that occur as a result of the
illocution
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Example Can you pass the salt
Locution Can you pass the salt Illocution
speaker wants the hearer to pass the salt to
him Perlocutions (maybe) the hearer passes the
salt to the speaker
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Illocutions conveying of speakers intentions
to hearer
Split into two parts Illocutionary force
classifies the speech act according to what kind
of intention it is meant to convey Proposition
the subject of the illocution
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Illocutionary force
Assertives statements of facts Directives
commands, requests or suggestions Commissives
commit the speaker to a course of action, eg
promises Declaratives entail the occurrence of
an action in themselves, eg I now pronounce you
man and wife Expressives express feelings and
attitudes
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Example
Can you pass the salt Illocutionary force
directive Proposition pass the salt
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Agent Communication Languages
Illocutionary force becomes language primitive
request
Can you pass the salt Illocutionary force
directive Proposition pass the salt
Proposition becomes content passMe(salt)
request passMe(salt)
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FIPA Agent Communication Language (FIPA ACL)
22 primitives e.g. accept
proposal, agree, cancel, call for proposal,
confirm, disconfirm, failure, inform, not
understood, propose, query if, refuse, reject
proposal, request.
(inform sender
(agent-identifier name i) receiver
(agent-identifier name j) content
weather (today, raining) language
Prolog )
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FIPA Agent Communication Language (FIPA ACL)
22 primitives e.g. accept
proposal, agree, cancel, call for proposal,
confirm, disconfirm, failure, inform, not
understood, propose, query if, refuse, reject
proposal, request.
(inform sender
(agent-identifier name i) receiver
(agent-identifier name j) content
weather (today, raining) language
Prolog )
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FIPA Agent Communication Language (FIPA ACL)
22 primitives e.g. accept proposal,
agree, cancel, call for proposal, confirm,
disconfirm, failure, inform, not understood,
propose, query if, refuse, reject proposal,
request.
(inform sender
(agent-identifier name i) receiver
(agent-identifier name j) content
weather (today, raining) language
Prolog )
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FIPA Agent Communication Language (FIPA ACL)
22 primitives e.g. accept proposal,
agree, cancel, call for proposal, confirm,
disconfirm, failure, inform, not understood,
propose, query if, refuse, reject proposal,
request.
(inform sender
(agent-identifier name i) receiver
(agent-identifier name j) content
weather (today, raining) language
Prolog )
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FIPA Agent Communication Language (FIPA ACL)
22 primitives e.g. accept proposal,
agree, cancel, call for proposal, confirm,
disconfirm, failure, inform, not understood,
propose, query if, refuse, reject proposal,
request.
(inform sender
(agent-identifier name i) receiver
(agent-identifier name j) content
weather (today, raining) language
Prolog )
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FIPA Agent Communication Language (FIPA ACL)
22 primitives e.g. accept proposal,
agree, cancel, call for proposal, confirm,
disconfirm, failure, inform, not understood,
propose, query if, refuse, reject proposal,
request.
(inform sender
(agent-identifier name i) receiver
(agent-identifier name j) content
weather (today, raining) language
Prolog )
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FIPA Agent Communication Language (FIPA ACL)
22 primitives e.g. accept proposal,
agree, cancel, call for proposal, confirm,
disconfirm, failure, inform, not understood,
propose, query if, refuse, reject proposal,
request.
(inform sender
(agent-identifier name i) receiver
(agent-identifier name j) content
weather (today, raining) language
Prolog )
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Necessary Primitives for Clinical Domain???
request accept reject alter inform propose
query cancel acknowledge

An agent-based approach to health care
management J. Huang, N. R. Jennings J. Fox,
Journal of Applied Artificial Intelligence
9401-420, 1995
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Example
Agent belonging to Dr. Tony Burg
Agent belonging to Dr. Jean Penn

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Example
message(from(Tony Burg),
to(Jean Penn), date(1993 06
01), time(12 00),
patient(Mary Taylor, 1925 10 30),
request(task(treat breast cancer),
priority(urgent),
response_by(1993 06 10)),
inform(date(1993 05 30),
finding(tumour size, 10 x
5)))
Agent belonging to Dr. Tony Burg
Agent belonging to Dr. Jean Penn

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Example
message(from(Jean Penn),
to(Tony Burg), date(1993 06
02), time(10 00),
patient(Mary Taylor, 1925 10 30),
accept(task(treat breast cancer)) )
Agent belonging to Dr. Tony Burg
Agent belonging to Dr. Jean Penn

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Whats needed?
Set of formally specified, sufficient language
primitives.

• For each communication modelled within the
  system, we need to know
• exact situation communication should occur in
  and who the participants of the communication
  are.
• what the effect of the communication is on all
  participants, and if any response is required.
• what we are trying to achieve with the
  communication the goal of the communication.

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Example
Refer to genetics services
This communication should take place between the
GPs secretary and the genetics centres
secretary if the GP has decided that the patient
needs referral to the genetics centre.

Once the communication is over, an appointment
for the patient at the genetics centre should
exist which is suitable to both geneticist and
patient. The patient, GP and geneticist should
all know about this appointment.
GOAL to agree on an appointment for the patient
with a geneticist.
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PART II Extended Communication Dialogues.
AIM -to introduce some of the ideas used to
structure extended agent dialogues -to show you
an example from my work
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• Most goals cannot be achieved by single messages
  instead the agents need to have conversations
  or dialogues.
• The agents need to be able to choose appropriate
  messages to send within a dialogue.
• Use dialogue theory to structure these dialogues
  and to limit the number of messages that an agent
  has to choose between at a point in a dialogue.

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Dialogue theory
D. Walton E. Krabbe, Commitments in Dialogue,
SUNY Press, 1995
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Dialogue games
For each dialogue type, specify - set of legal
moves, - rules governing move use, and -
winning conditions.
C. Reed T. Norman, Models of Agent Dialogue,
Presentation at EASSS 2003
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Dialogue games
Set of legal moves assert(P) utterer claims P
to be true challenge(P, Q) utterer claims P is
not true because of Q concede(P) utterer agrees
that P is true iGiveUp utterer gives up
C. Reed T. Norman, Models of Agent Dialogue,
Presentation at EASSS 2003
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Dialogue games
Rules Initial player begins by uttering
assert(P) If player X utters assert(P), player Y
must at the next turn challenge(P,Q) or
concede(P) If player X utters challenge(P, Q),
player Y must at the next turn concede(Q) or
challenge(Q, R)
C. Reed T. Norman, Models of Agent Dialogue,
Presentation at EASSS 2003
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Dialogue games
Rules continued Any player can utter iGiveUp at
any time Players take it in turn to utter a
single locution, except in the case where player
X utters concede(Q), in which case, player X may
also, at the same turn, utter a challenge A move
challenge(P, Q) is unsuccessful if it is
successfully challenged, and is successful
otherwise
C. Reed T. Norman, Models of Agent Dialogue,
Presentation at EASSS 2003
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Dialogue games
Winning conditions Player X wins if player Y
utters iGiveUp Player X wins if player Y utters
concede(P) where P was Xs initial
assertion Player X wins if, at Xs turn, Y has
no successful challenges against P.
C. Reed T. Norman, Models of Agent Dialogue,
Presentation at EASSS 2003
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Dialogue games
assert(this patient has chicken pox)
I
P
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Dialogue games
challenge(this patient has chicken pox, her
temperature is normal and chicken pox patients
have a high temperature)
I
P
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Dialogue games
challenge(her temperature is normal and chicken
pox patients have a high temperature, in 5 of
chicken pox patients temperature remains normal)
I
P
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Dialogue games
concede(in 5 of chicken pox patients temperature
remains normal) challenge(patient has chicken
pox, her rash is localised and more consistent
with flea bites and she has been exposed to fleas)
I
P
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Dialogue games
concede(her rash is localised and more consistent
with flea bites and she has been exposed to
fleas) iGiveUp
I
P
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Dialogues

• Different types of dialogue
• each of which has their own set of rules,
• each of which achieves a type of goal.
• Allows agent to select relevant type of dialogue
  to achieve its goal.

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Example info_seek dialogue

• Achieves get data goals
• getData(A, Y)
• E.g. getData(age(p172, ??), genAdmin)
• - data is received from general administration
  giving patient 172s date of birth.

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Example inform dialogue

• Achieves informed goals
• informed(A, Y)
• E.g. informed(dob(p172, 050579), gp12)
• - GP 12 has received the information that
  patient 172s date of birth is 5 may 1979.

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Example request dialogue

• Achieves commitment goals
• commitment(Y, X, C)
• E.g. commitment(spec7, gp12, appt(p172, tue10))
• - specialist 7 is bound to GP 12 to see patient
  172 on Tuesday at 10.

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Example discussion dialogue

• Achieves supported knowledge goals
• supported(K, Y)
• E.g. supported(diagnosis(p172, breast, ?), spec7)
• - the agent with the goal and specialist 7 have
  both agreed on a diagnosis relating to patient
  172s breast symptoms. The diagnosis is supported
  by arguments.

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What are the different types of goals and how do
they relate to different types of dialogue?