A Framework for the Design of Self-Regulation of Open Agent-based Electronic Marketplaces

In this paper, we argue that allowing self-interested agents to activate social institutions during run-time can improve the robustness (i.e., stability, cooperation or fairness) of open Multiagent Systems (MAS). Referring to sociological theory, we consider institutions to be rules which have to be activated and adopted by the agent population. Informed by sociology, we propose a framework for self-regulation of MAS for the domain of electronic marketplaces. The framework consists of three different institutional forms that are defined by the mechanisms and instances that generate, change or safeguard them. We suggest that allowing autonomous agents both the reasoning about their compliance with a rule and the selection of the form of an institution helps to balance the trade-off between the autonomy of self-interested agents and the maintenance of ”social order” (cf. Castelfranchi (2000)) in MAS and to ensure almost the same qualities as in closed environments.∗

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: NORMAS
• Authors: Christian S. Hahn, Bettina Fley, Michael Florian
• Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, NORMAS 2005, Open Multiagent Systems, Self-interested Agents, Social Institutions