TY - JOUR
T1 - Coalition formation with dynamically changing externalities
AU - Sklab, Youcef
AU - Aknine, Samir
AU - Shehory, Onn
AU - Tari, Abdelkamel
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2020/5
Y1 - 2020/5
N2 - We consider multiple self-interested bounded-rational agents each of which has a goal it needs to achieve. Goals are achievable by executing a set of interdependent tasks. Some tasks exhibit time dependencies and may require sequential execution. For each agent, there may be several alternative sets of tasks that can achieve the goal. Execution of alternatives, may be more beneficial when done by a group of agents and not by a single agent. To jointly achieve goals, agents may form interdependent coalitions. Such coalition formation is computationally intractable. We nevertheless seek a practical solution that is not necessarily optimal yet acceptable by the agents. A solution where agents examine only coalitions in which they are members is inapplicable, as externalities are a major factor given task interdependencies. In this paper we study this coalition formation problem. We describe the problem and introduce a novel Multi-lateral Negotiation Protocol (MNP) that solves it by forming interdependent coalitions. We allow agents to heuristically make gradual concessions, revise their proposals and converge on specific alternatives, and nevertheless increase their expected gains.
AB - We consider multiple self-interested bounded-rational agents each of which has a goal it needs to achieve. Goals are achievable by executing a set of interdependent tasks. Some tasks exhibit time dependencies and may require sequential execution. For each agent, there may be several alternative sets of tasks that can achieve the goal. Execution of alternatives, may be more beneficial when done by a group of agents and not by a single agent. To jointly achieve goals, agents may form interdependent coalitions. Such coalition formation is computationally intractable. We nevertheless seek a practical solution that is not necessarily optimal yet acceptable by the agents. A solution where agents examine only coalitions in which they are members is inapplicable, as externalities are a major factor given task interdependencies. In this paper we study this coalition formation problem. We describe the problem and introduce a novel Multi-lateral Negotiation Protocol (MNP) that solves it by forming interdependent coalitions. We allow agents to heuristically make gradual concessions, revise their proposals and converge on specific alternatives, and nevertheless increase their expected gains.
KW - Coalition formation
KW - Coalitions externalities
KW - Dynamically changing externalities
KW - Multi-agent negotiation
KW - Task dependencies
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85080921056&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.engappai.2020.103577
DO - 10.1016/j.engappai.2020.103577
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AN - SCOPUS:85080921056
SN - 0952-1976
VL - 91
JO - Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence
JF - Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence
M1 - 103577
ER -