Foreword | p. xiii |
Preface | p. xvii |
Trademarks | p. xix |
Introduction | p. 1 |
Intelligent Agents--Some definitions | p. 2 |
What This Book Is About | p. 6 |
Section Summaries | p. 7 |
Audience and Structure of This Book | p. 9 |
From Artificial Intelligence Comes Intelligent Agents | p. 11 |
Introduction | p. 11 |
40 Years of Classical AI | p. 12 |
Hierarchy: Bridging the Gap between Natural and Artificial Computational Worlds | p. 17 |
The Connectionist Revolution: Human Brain as Inspiration | p. 21 |
Agents of the Mind | p. 23 |
Agents of the Computer--AI Begets IAs | p. 26 |
AI and Agents--the Specifics | p. 29 |
Converging Technologies that Facilitate and Enable Agents | p. 37 |
Introduction | p. 37 |
Expert Systems and Knowledge Bases | p. 39 |
Object Orientation--An Overview | p. 52 |
OO concepts and terminology | p. 53 |
OO analysis and design | p. 60 |
OO agents | p. 71 |
Relationships among agents | p. 81 |
OO agent architecture benefits from uniformity of representation | p. 88 |
Agent development by extension and refinement | p. 88 |
Intelligent Agents via Soft Computing | p. 90 |
Fuzzy systems and fuzzy logic | p. 91 |
Evolutionary computing | p. 101 |
Artificial neural networks--computers that learn while they compute | p. 000 |
Agent-Enabling Infrastructures | p. 115 |
Introduction | p. 115 |
A word about interoperability "standards" | p. 119 |
A word about client/server | p. 120 |
Evaluating infrastructures for agents | p. 121 |
OpenDoc | p. 125 |
Object Linking and Embedding and ActiveX | p. 130 |
OLE--an overview | p. 130 |
Active X | p. 133 |
Developing agents based on OLE and ActiveX | p. 135 |
The Common Object Request Broker Architecture | p. 137 |
Interoperability between ORBs and agents over the Internet | p. 141 |
The Distributed Computing Environment | p. 143 |
Other Infrastructures | p. 146 |
Networked objects | p. 146 |
Portable distributed objects | p. 147 |
Publish/Subscribe and AppleEvents | p. 147 |
Operating systems | p. 148 |
A potpourri of agent environments | p. 149 |
Agent Architectures | p. 151 |
Introduction | p. 151 |
Architecture and infrastructure--a fine line | p. 152 |
What makes a good agent architecture? | p. 153 |
Analyzing an agent architecture | p. 154 |
Spectrum of Architectural Complexity | p. 155 |
Simple, single agent equals simple architecture | p. 155 |
A few simply interacting agents equal moderately complex architecture | p. 156 |
Many complex agents plus complex interaction equals complex architecture | p. 156 |
Reiken's M Architecture--A Complex Architecture of Integrated, Diversified Agents | p. 157 |
Integrating diversified agents--the issues | p. 157 |
Basic structure of integration | p. 157 |
Application of M--the virtual meeting room | p. 160 |
Genesereth's Architecture--Architectural Concepts Emphasizing Interoperability | p. 161 |
The importance of a metaprotocol | p. 161 |
Language issues | p. 163 |
Communications issues | p. 164 |
The agent communications language | p. 165 |
An interoperability facilitator | p. 167 |
Leveraging Existing Intelligence | p. 169 |
Rosenschein's Approach: An Architecture for Agent Negotiations | p. 170 |
Negotiation protocols--the issues | p. 171 |
Negotiation protocols from game theory | p. 172 |
Quest for an agent salutation protocol | p. 172 |
Agent negotiations--considering the domain | p. 176 |
Agent negotiation protocols--utility maximization | p. 179 |
Kautz's Architectural Approach--Bottom-Up Prototyping and Interation | p. 179 |
Kuo-Cho Lee's ITX Architecture for Agent Control | p. 181 |
Edmond's Collaborating Agents--A Federation Architecture | p. 184 |
Agent Architectures and Emergence | p. 187 |
Sugawara's Architectural Concepts--Dealing with Change | p. 188 |
Agent-Design Considerations | p. 193 |
Introduction | p. 193 |
Designing Agents--The Big Picture | p. 194 |
Agent requirements analysis--general aspects | p. 194 |
Agent requirements analysis--specific aspects | p. 195 |
General design considerations | p. 196 |
Agents, Platforms, and Environments: Where Agents Fit In | p. 200 |
Execution environments | p. 200 |
Distributed computing paradigms | p. 203 |
Considerations for a common agent platform | p. 210 |
Agents and Humans | p. 212 |
Agents and humans working together | p. 212 |
Anthropomorphic considerations | p. 215 |
Considering the agent's audience--the user | p. 216 |
Agent-user interaction--trust, competence, and learning | p. 217 |
Helping humans work: designing work-flow agents | p. 220 |
Incorporating Agent Capabilities in Shrink-Wrap Software | p. 220 |
Topics on Intelligence | p. 221 |
Simple agents versus intelligent agents | p. 221 |
Designing in intelligence and autonomy | p. 222 |
Agent Components | p. 228 |
Classifying Agents Based on Degree of Mobility | p. 230 |
Fixed or stationary agents | p. 231 |
Mobile or itinerant agents | p. 232 |
Authentication, Exceptions, and Security | p. 248 |
Handling Exceptions | p. 249 |
Security considerations--general | p. 250 |
Security considerations--authentication and digital signatures | p. 251 |
Agents Programmed or Configured by the End User | p. 251 |
Agent Communications | p. 255 |
Knowledge query and manipulation language | p. 255 |
Knowledge Interchange Format (KIF) | p. 255 |
Agent communications example | p. 255 |
Developing Intelligent Agents Now | p. 259 |
Introduction | p. 259 |
Building Simple Agents | p. 260 |
Agents (almost) without programmers | p. 260 |
Power-user environments for building agents | p. 261 |
Serious Agent Tool Kits and Development Environments--Introduction | p. 265 |
Smalltalk agents | p. 265 |
Distributed Smalltalk | p. 274 |
Java | p. 279 |
Agent applictions in Java | p. 279 |
Java as an OO language | p. 280 |
Java tools | p. 281 |
Applets and servelets as agents | p. 282 |
Agile agents in Java | p. 283 |
The Java agent template | p. 285 |
Agent-support facilities in Java | p. 289 |
Telescript: The Complete Mobile Agent Environment | p. 290 |
Mobile agent technology | p. 290 |
Programming mobile agents--the Telescript object model | p. 293 |
Programming a place | p. 295 |
Programming an agent | p. 299 |
Using mobile agents--monitoring changing conditions | p. 302 |
Using mobile agents--doing time-consuming legwork | p. 305 |
Mobile agents--using services in combination | p. 307 |
Telescript in the real world | p. 310 |
Agent Development Environments and Security | p. 311 |
Modern Object-Oriented Languages and the Agent Paradigm | p. 312 |
The coming Java wave | p. 312 |
Java, Telescript, and Smalltalk | p. 314 |
Joining forces? | p. 314 |
Summary | p. 315 |
Agent Applications | p. 317 |
Network Agents | p. 317 |
LAN management agents | p. 318 |
NetWare management agent | p. 318 |
NetWare hub services agent | p. 318 |
NetWare LANalyzer agent | p. 319 |
Network software distribution agents | p. 319 |
Automatic access and connection agents | p. 320 |
Database Agents | p. 320 |
Data integrity checking agent | p. 320 |
Constraint agents | p. 320 |
Database report-distribution agents | p. 320 |
A distributed database backup agent | p. 321 |
Communications Managemnet Agents | p. 321 |
Search Agents | p. 322 |
Avatars and Cyberspace | p. 322 |
Assistants and Work-Flow-Automation Agents | p. 323 |
Financial Agents | p. 324 |
Filtering Agents | p. 324 |
NewT--personalization of Usenet news | p. 325 |
Agents as Researchers and Reporters | p. 325 |
Telephony Agents | p. 326 |
Commerce--Deal-Making Agents in a Worldwide Marketplace | p. 327 |
Bits of commerce--agents finding products | p. 328 |
Bits of commerce--agents finding people | p. 329 |
Advertising agents | p. 330 |
E-Mail Agents | p. 330 |
Database Access via the Web | p. 331 |
Agents in Industrial Automation and Control Domains | p. 331 |
Governmental Agents | p. 332 |
Medical Agents | p. 333 |
Military Agents | p. 334 |
Computer-Aided Design Helpers | p. 334 |
JAT-Based Agents for Interactive, Collaborative, Concurrent Design and Engineering | p. 334 |
Technical Assistance Agent | p. 336 |
Decision Support Agents | p. 336 |
"Bots" | p. 337 |
Author's Assistant | p. 337 |
Anthropomorphic Agents: Firefly | p. 338 |
Big Brother Agents | p. 338 |
Agents as Meeting Facilitators | p. 339 |
Agent Futures | p. 341 |
Introduction | p. 341 |
The Future of Network Management | p. 343 |
No Surfing | p. 344 |
Commercial Agents | p. 344 |
Net Searching and Information Mining | p. 346 |
Agents to Infiltrate Applications | p. 346 |
Military Agents | p. 347 |
Database Agents | p. 347 |
"Big supplier" Is Watching You | p. 347 |
Trust | p. 348 |
Information Agents and Cooperative Information Systems | p. 348 |
Future Agent Builders | p. 349 |
Social Issues Pertaining to Agent Technology | p. 350 |
Replacing Humans with Software | p. 351 |
The Global Desktop | p. 353 |
Agents at Home | p. 353 |
A day in the life of an agent-enhanced human | p. 354 |
Agents: The Dark Side | p. 354 |
Future agent security | p. 355 |
Privacy | p. 355 |
You are your agent(s) (at least in cyberspace) | p. 356 |
Inventing the Future of Agents at MIT: Work at Software Agents Group, MIT Media Laboratory | p. 357 |
Modeling intelligent autonomous agents | p. 357 |
Computational model of emotion for autonomous agents | p. 358 |
Software agents | p. 358 |
Agents that reduce information overload | p. 358 |
Amalthaea--a multi-agent system that discovers, monitors, and filters information resources | p. 359 |
Yenta--matchmaking agents | p. 359 |
Remembrance agents | p. 359 |
Using simulated evolution to create adaptive systems | p. 360 |
Anthropomorphizing software agents | p. 360 |
Browsing large information spaces--emergent structure from collective action | p. 360 |
Kasbah--an agent marketplace for buying and selling goods | p. 361 |
ALIVE--artificial life interactive video environment | p. 361 |
Modeling synthetic characters for games and interactive storytelling | p. 361 |
Miscellaneous Agent-Related Projects | p. 362 |
Intelligent browsing agents | p. 362 |
Persona project | p. 362 |
On-line cooperating agent architecture | p. 362 |
Agents and ontologies | p. 362 |
Agent architecture | p. 363 |
Operating system support for agents | p. 363 |
Internet search agent | p. 363 |
ARPA Intelligent Integration of Information (I"3) project | p. 363 |
Guardian: a prototype intelligent agent for monitoring intenstive-care and other medical patients | p. 363 |
Intelligent, ethical agents | p. 364 |
Mail agent | p. 364 |
Knowledge-based agents | p. 364 |
Agent collaboration languages | p. 364 |
Sulla--a user agent for the web | p. 364 |
The Future of AI equals The Future of IAs | p. 365 |
Summary | p. 367 |
Acronyms | p. 369 |
Bibliography | p. 375 |
Index | p. 381 |
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