Abstract

Abstract. We introduce a distributed architecture to endow multi-agent systems with a social layer in which norms are explicitly represented and managed via rules. We propose a class of rules (called institutional rules) that operate on a database of facts (called institutional states) representing the state of affairs of a multi-agent system. We define the syntax and semantics of the institutional rules and describe a means to implement them as a logic program. We show how the institutional rules and states come together in a distributed architecture in which a team of administrative agents employ a tuple space (i.e., a kind of blackboard system) to guide the execution of a multi-agent system. 1

Citations