Patrice Caire

Visual notation design 2.0: Towards user comprehensible requirements engineering notations

The success of requirements engineering depends critically on effective communication between business analysts and end users, yet empirical studies show that business stakeholders understand RE notations very poorly. This paper proposes a novel approach to designing RE visual notations that actively involves naïve users in the process. We use i*, one of the most influential RE notations, to demonstrate the approach, but the same approach could be applied to any RE notation. We present the results of 5 related empirical studies that show that novices outperform experts in designing symbols that are comprehensible to novices: the differences are both statistically significant and practically meaningful. Symbols designed by novices increased semantic transparency (their ability to be spontaneously interpreted by other novices) by almost 300% compared to the existing i* notation. The results challenge the conventional wisdom about visual notation design: that it should be conducted by a small group of experts; our research suggests that it should instead be conducted by large numbers of novices. The approach is consistent with Web 2.0, in that it harnesses the collective intelligence of end users and actively involves them in the notation design process as “prosumers” rather than passive consumers. We believe this approach has the potential to radically change the way visual notations are designed in the future.

A normative multi-agent systems approach to the use of conviviality for digital cities

Conviviality is a mechanism to reinforce social cohesion and a tool to reduce mis-coordination between individuals, groups and institutions in web communities, for example in digital cities. We use a two-fold definition of conviviality as a condition for social interactions and an instrument for the internal regulation of social systems. In this paper we discuss the use of normative multi-agent systems to analyze the use of conviviality for digital cities, by contrasting norms for conviviality with legal and institutional norms in digital cities. We show the role of the distinction among various kinds of norms, the explicit representation of norms, the violability of norms and the dynamics of norms in the context of conviviality for digital cities.

Convivial Ambient Technologies

In this paper we discuss the use of the social concept ‘conviviality’ for computer science in general, and for the development of ambient technologies in particular. First, we give a survey of the use of the concept ‘conviviality’ in the social sciences. Conviviality is usually considered a positive concept related to sociability. However, further analysis reveals a negative side related to lack of diversity, privacy and ethical issues. Second, we argue that conviviality requirements for ambient intelligence are challenging, because ambient technologies give rise to a new virtual and social reality, and conviviality issues play a central role in applications that are concerned with the interaction of material, virtual and social realities. Conviviality highlights an important challenge that we illustrate with examples that emphasize ethical issues, such as privacy threats, surveillance of users and identity theft. Intelligent interfaces, for example, allow instant interactions and thereby create strong needs for coordination and regulation mechanisms that have to be addressed to ensure the safeguard of individuals against abuses, such as privacy intrusions and identity manipulations. Third, we propose a conviviality ontology by operationalizing the fuzzy concept of ‘conviviality,’ such that it can be used in computer science in the same way as other social concepts such as ‘service,’ ‘contract’ or ‘trust’ are used in this area. Conviviality is defined using dependence networks, and tools for conviviality are based on, what we call, conviviality masks. Fourth, we illustrate how convivial ambient intelligence applications can be designed using our operationalized concept of conviviality. We illustrate our arguments and contributions with a running example on the use of ambient technologies in digital cities, as a prototypical example where material reality such as ambient technologies interacts with virtual and social realities.

Norm negotiation in online multi-player games

In this paper, we introduce an agent communication protocol and speech acts for norm negotiation. The protocol creates individual or contractual obligations to fulfill goals of the agents based on the so-called social delegation cycle. First, agents communicate their individual goals and powers. Second, they propose social goals which can be accepted or rejected by other agents. Third, they propose obligations and sanctions to achieve the social goal, which can again be accepted or rejected. Finally, the agents accept the new norm by indicating which of their communicated individual goals the norm achieves. The semantics of the speech acts is based on a commitment to public mental attitudes. The norm negotiation model is illustrated by an example of norm negotiation in multi-player online gaming.

Designing convivial digital cities: a social intelligence design approach

Conviviality has been identified as a key concept necessary to web communities, such as digital cities, and while it has been simultaneously defined in literature as individual freedom realized in personal interdependence, rational and cooperative behavior and normative instrument, no model for conviviality has yet been proposed for computer science. In this article, we raised the question whether social intelligence design could be used to designing convivial digital cities. We first looked at digital cities and identified, from a social intelligence design point of view, two main categories of digital cities: public websites and commercial websites; we also noted the experimental qualities of digital cities. Second, we analyzed the concept of conviviality for social science, multi-agent systems and intelligent interface; we showed the distinction among various kinds of use of conviviality, the positive outcomes such as social cohesion, trust and participation but also the negative aspects that emerged when conviviality became an instrument of power relations. Fourth, we looked at the normative aspect of conviviality as described in the literature and found that social norms for conviviality paralleled legal and institutional norms for digital cities. Finally, as a first step toward obtaining measures for conviviality, we presented a case study describing agents and user’s interactions using dependence graphs. We also presented an analysis of conviviality requirements and described our plan and methodology for designing convivial digital cities.

A rule-based contextual reasoning platform for ambient intelligence environments

The special characteristics and requirements of intelligent environments impose several challenges to the reasoning processes of Ambient Intelligence systems. Such systems must enable heterogeneous entities operating in open and dynamic environments to collectively reason with imperfect context information. Previously we introduced Contextual Defeasible Logic (CDL) as a contextual reasoning model that addresses most of these challenges using the concepts of context, mappings and contextual preferences. In this paper, we present a platform integrating CDL with Kevoree, a component-based software framework for Dynamically Adaptive Systems. We explain how the capabilities of Kevoree are exploited to overcome several technical issues, such as communication, information exchange and detection, and explain how the reasoning methods may be further extended. We illustrate our approach with a running example from Ambient Assisted Living.

Privacy Challenges in Ambient Intelligence Systems

Today, privacy is a key concept. It is also one which is rapidly evolving with technological advances, and there is no consensus on a single definition for it. In fact, the concept of privacy has been defined in many different ways, ranging from the “right to be left alone” to being a “commodity” that can be bought and sold. In the same time, powerful Ambient Intelligence (AmI) systems are being developed, that deploy context-aware, personalised, adaptive and anticipatory services. In such systems personal data is vastly collected, stored, and distributed, making privacy preservation a critical issue. The human-centred focus of AmI systems has prompted the introduction of new kinds of technologies, e.g. Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PET), and methodologies, e.g. Privacy by Design (PbD), whereby privacy concerns are included in the design of the system. One particular application field, where privacy preservation is of critical importance is Ambient Assisted Living (AAL). Emerging from the continuous increase of the ageing population, AAL focuses on intelligent systems of assistance for a better, healthier and safer life in their living environment. In this paper, we first build on our previous work, in which we introduced a new tripartite categorisation of privacy as a right, an enabler, and a commodity. Second, we highlight the specific privacy issues raised in AAL. Third, we review and discuss current approaches for privacy preservation. Finally, drawing on lessons learned from AAL, we provide insights on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Part of our methodology is a statistical analysis performed on the IEEE publications database. We illustrate our work with AAL scenarios elaborated in cooperation with the city of Luxembourg.

Information Dependencies in MCS: Conviviality-Based Model and Metrics

Information exchange among heterogenous entities is common in most distributed systems. To facilitate information exchange, we first need ways to evaluate it. The concept of conviviality was recently introduced to model and measure cooperation among agents. In this paper, we use conviviality to model and measure information dependencies in distributed systems modeled as Multi-Context Systems. Then, we apply our findings to resolve inconsistencies among participating entities.

Computing coalitions in Multiagent Systems: A contextual reasoning approach

As the use of autonomous systems and robotics spreads, the need for their activities to not only be understandable and explainable, but even verifiable, is increasing. But how can we be sure what such a system will decide to do, and can we really formally verify this behaviour? Practical autonomous systems are increasingly based on some form of hybrid agent architecture, at the heart of which is an agent that makes many, and possibly all, of the decisions that the human operator used to make. However it is important that these agents are “rational”, in the sense that they not only make decisions, but have explicit and explainable reasons for making those decisions. In this talk, I will examine these “rational” agents, discuss their role at the heart of autonomous systems, and explain how we can formally verify their behaviours. This then allows us: to be more confident about what our autonomous systems will decide to do; to use formal arguments in system certification and safety; and even to analyse ethical decisions our systems might make. Acknowledgement. The work described in this talk has involved many others, for example my thanks go to – Louise Dennis (Computer Science, Univ. Liverpool) – Matt Webster (Computer Science, Univ. Liverpool) – Clare Dixon (Computer Science, Univ. Liverpool) – Rafael Bordini (UFRGS, Brazil) – Alexei Lisitsa (Computer Science, Univ. Liverpool) – Sandor Veres (Engineering, Univ. Sheffield) – Mike Jump (Engineering, Univ. Liverpool) – Richard Stocker (NASA Ames Research Center, USA) – Neil Cameron (Virtual Engineering Centre, Daresbury) – Marija Slavkovik (Univ. Bergen, Norway) – Alan Winfield (Bristol Robotics Lab) Thanks also to the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for funding much of this research, particularly through the projects – Model-Checking Agent Programming Languages (EP/D052548; 2006–2009) – Engineering Autonomous Space Software (EP/F037201; 2008–2012) – Trustworthy Robotic Assistants (EP/K006193; 2013–2016) – Verifiable Autonomy (EP/L024845; 2014–2018)

Argumentation theoretic foundations for abstract dependence networks

In this paper we show how to argue about agreements based on dependence. First, we introduce a formal theory of arguing about agreements by instantiating Dungs abstract theory of argumentation with proposals for agreements represented as dependence networks. Second, we show that acceptable agreements are exchange based--satisfying the so-called do-ut-des principle--and not redundant. Third, to further decrease the number of proposals, we define a notion of minimal proposals. Roughly, all proposals can be split into a number of minimal sub-proposals such that if the proposal is acceptable, then its minimal sub-proposals are acceptable too. We show that minimal proposals satisfy the indecomposable do-ut-des property, i.e., they cannot be split into two nonempty sub-proposals with at most one shared agent.