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clear that agent control requires either communication or a simple action-perception loop.
On the one hand,
Ag
1
can monitor
Ag
2
without any communication (without sending any
specialized message or signal), by simply observing it; at the same time
Ag
1
can also influence
Ag
2
by physical/practical actions and interventions on
Ag
2
or on the world. For example
Ag
1
can brake and stop
Ag
2
. On the other hand,
Ag
1
can monitor
Ag
2
thanks to messages
sent by
Ag
2
to
Ag
1
(reports), and can influence
Ag
2
by sending them messages (instructions,
warnings, etc.).
Examples of Monitoring
Let us show you how the
monitoring
actions can be expressed in praxis and in communication.
PRAXIS:
inspection
(visiting the environment in which
Ag
2
is working to ascertain if ev-
erything is as expected);
internal inspection
(inspecting some inside agent data to check its reasoning,
agenda, plan library, plan, etc.);
surveillance
(by sample) observing
Ag
2
's activity and partial results, and the
environment for avoiding damages;
detecting
analyzing some traces of
Ag
2
's activity in order to (abductively) check
whether its behaviour has been correct and at what stage it is.
COMMUNICATION:
report requests
('let me know what is happening'; 'any news?');
inspective questions
('is everything as expected?' 'what are you doing?' 'is
p
true?').
Examples of the Intervention
Let us now show you how the
intervention
actions can be expressed in praxis and in commu-
nication.
PRAXIS:
substitution
,
Ag
1
performs (part of) an action previously allocated to
Ag
2
;
support
,
Ag
1
modifies the conditions of the world so that
Ag
2
can successfully
perform its action or damages can be prevented;
brake
,
Ag
1
stops
Ag
2
's activity (either by external obstacles or directly acting
upon/in
Ag
2
's body or software);
tuning
,
Ag
1
modifies and corrects
Ag
2
's action (either by external obstacles or
directly acting upon/in
Ag
2
's body or software);
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