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A Functional Program for Agents, Actions, and Deontic Specifications

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Declarative Agent Languages and Technologies IV (DALT 2006)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 4327))

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Abstract

We outline the Abstract Contract Calculator, a prototype language implemented in Haskell (a declarative programming language) in which we model agents executing abstract actions relative to deontic concepts derived from Standard Deontic Logic and Dynamic Deontic Logic. The concepts of abstract actions are derived from Dynamic Logic. The logics are declarative, while the implementation is operational. Actions have explicit action preconditions and postconditions. We have deontic specification of complex actions. We implement a Contrary-to-Duty Obligations case. We distinguish Contrary-to-Duty Obligations from obligations on sequences, which has not previously been accounted for in the literature. The central innovation is the expression of complex violation and fulfillment markers. The language can be used to express a range of alternative notions of actions and deontic specification.

The author thanks Tom Maibaum, Andrew Jones, and reviewers for comments, and Hewlett-Packard Research Labs, Bristol, UK for financial support. Errors rest with the author.

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Wyner, A.Z. (2006). A Functional Program for Agents, Actions, and Deontic Specifications. In: Baldoni, M., Endriss, U. (eds) Declarative Agent Languages and Technologies IV. DALT 2006. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 4327. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11961536_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11961536_16

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-68959-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-68961-4

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