Is it worth arguing?
OA Location
Author(s)
Karunatillake, Nishan C
Jennings, NR
Type
Conference Paper
Abstract
Argumentation-based negotiation (ABN) is an effective means of resolving conflicts in a multi-agent society. However, it consumes both time and computational resources for agents to generate, select and evaluate arguments. Furthermore, in many cases, argumentation is not the only means of resolving conflicts. Thus, some could be avoided either by finding an alternative means (evading the conflict) or by modifying the intended course of action (re-planning). Therefore, it would be advantageous for agents to identify those situations and weigh the costs and the benefits of arguing before using it to resolve conflicts. To this end, we present a preliminary empirical analysis to evaluate the performance of a simple ABN system, with respect to other non-arguing approaches, in a particular task allocation scenario. In our experiments, we simulate a multi-agent community and allow the agents to use a combination of ABN, evasion and re-planning techniques to overcome conflicts that arise within the community. Analysing the observed results, we show that, in our domain, ABN presents an effective means of resolving conflicts when the resources are constrained. However, we also show it is a more costly and less effective means, compared to evasion and re-planning methods, when resources are more abundant.
Date Issued
2004
Citation
2004, pp.62-77
Start Page
62
End Page
77
Identifier
http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/263134/
Source
First International Workshop on Argumentation in Multi-Agent Systems (ArgMAS 2004)
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Computer Science, Theory & Methods
Computer Science
argumentation-based negotiation
conflict resolution
ARGUMENTATION
NEGOTIATION
AGENTS
Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing
08 Information And Computing Sciences
Notes
Event Dates: 19, July 2004 keywords: Argumentation-based Negotiation Conflict Resolution
Publication Status
Unpublished