Bridging the Specification-Protocol Gap in Argumentation

8th April - Ashwag Maghraby

Abstract:
Research on argumentation has concentrated on abstract specification of arguments between a protagonist and an antagonist. However, as we build complete multi-agent systems that involve argumentation there is a need to produce concrete implementations in which these abstract specifications are realised via protocols coordinating agent behavior. This creates a gap between argument specification and implementation which we bridge using a combination of transformational synthesis and model checking. The resulting system provides engineers with a means of moving rapidly from argument specification to implementation, using the Argument Interchange Format as the specification language and the Lightweight Coordination Calculus as an implementation language.