News & Announcements

• (4 Apr 2014) Preliminary program now up.
• (25 Mar 2014) Workshop date finalized: Monday 5 May.
• (10 Feb 2014) Keynote speaker announced: Prof. Sarit Kraus (details below).
• (19 Jan 2014) Submission date revised.
• (11 Dec 2013) Web site is up.

Overview

Submissions are invited for the International Workshop on Argumentation in Multi-Agent Systems (ArgMAS).

ArgMAS focuses on the concepts, theories, methodologies, and applications of computational models of argument in creating autonomous agents and multi-agent systems. Argumentation can be abstractly defined as the formal interaction of different arguments for and against some conclusion (eg, a proposition, an action intention, a preference, etc). A single agent may use argumentation techniques to perform individual reasoning, to resolve conflicting evidence, or to decide between conflicting goals.   Multiple agents may also use dialectical argumentation in order to identify and reconcile differences between themselves, through interactions such as negotiation, persuasion, and joint deliberation.

The main goal of ArgMAS will be to bring together the community of researchers working on argumentation in multi-agent systems. The workshop has the following technical goals:

(a) To explore the use of argumentation in practical reasoning.
(b) To investigate how argumentation can be used to enable rational interaction between autonomous agents.
(c) To explore the applicability of argumentation for solving a variety of problems in multi-agent systems, such as information exchange, negotiation, team formation, deliberation, etc.
(d) To explore strategic reasoning and behaviours in argumentation-based interaction.
(e) To better understand how argumentation relates to other areas of multiagent research, such as game theory, agent communications, and planning.
(f) To present and encourage implemented systems which demonstrate the use of argumentation in multi-agent systems.

The workshop solicits papers looking at either theory or practice, or both. In particular, the workshop aims at bridging the gap between the vast amount of work on argumentation theory and the practical needs of multi-agent systems research.

Different agents within a multiagent system potentially have differential access to information and capabilities, different beliefs, different preferences and desires, and different goals and values.   A key aspect of the scientific study of multiagent systems therefore is the development of methods and procedures for identifying, assessing, reconciling, and arbitrating between such differences.  Market mechanisms and voting procedures are two methods for dealing with such differences. Argumentation theory is another.  In recent years, formal theories of argument and argument interaction have been proposed, and this has led to the study of computational models of argument.  The ArgMAS series of workshops has focused on computational argumentation within the context of agent reasoning and multiagent systems.

The workshop will be of interest to anyone studying or applying default reasoning in autonomous agents, single-agent reasoning and planning under uncertainty, strategic single-agent reasoning in the context of potential competitor actions, and the rational resolution of the different beliefs and intentions of multiple agents within multiagent systems.

This workshop builds on the following successful workshops (see ArgMAS workshop series web site).

Topics

We solicit papers dealing with, but not limited to, the following areas:

• Computational models for argumentation
• Argumentation-based decision making
• Argumentation-based joint deliberation
• Argumentation-based persuasion
• Argumentation-based inquiry
• Argumentation-based negotiation and conflict resolution
• Argumentation and risk assessment
• Argumentation for legal reasoning
• Argumentation for electronic democracy
• Argumentation for coordination, cooperation and team formation
• Argumentation and game theory in multi-agent systems
• Human-agent argumentation
• Argumentation and preferences modelling
• Strategic behaviour in argument-based dialogues
• Deception, trust, reputation in argument-based interaction
• Computational complexity of argumentation dialogues
• Properties of argumentation dialogues (termination, success, etc.)
• Hybrid argumentation-based models
• Implemented argumentation-based multi-agent systems
• New application areas

Programme

Important Dates

Submission Deadline:	7 February
Notification of Decision:	10 March
Camera Ready Copy Due:	17 March
Workshop:	5 May

Publication

The proceedings of ArgMAS will be printed and distributed at the workshop.  As with previous ArgMAS workshops, it is planned to publish revised versions of the accepted full papers in an edited book as part of the Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) series. This publication will have an ISBN number, and would be available both in printed form, as well as electronically in SpringerLink online.

Submission Procedure

As with previous workshops, each ArgMAS submission will be reviewed by two members of the expert program committee.  Contributors may submit either full papers (no longer than 20 pages) or a two-page position statement that outlines their interests, background, and discussion of an aspect of the workshop theme.   Authors are encouraged to submit their papers in the Springer Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) style, since this will be the format required for the planned post-proceedings book. Formatting instructions, as well as the style and sample files, can be found here:

http://www.springer.de/comp/lncs/authors.html

Papers submitted should be in PDF format, and must be submitted through our dedicated EasyChair site, here:

https://www.easychair.org/account/signin.cgi?conf=argmas2014

Submitted papers should give full names and contact details for all authors. At least one author of each accepted papers must register for the workshop.

Organisers

• Katie Atkinson (Contact Organiser)
  Department of Computer Science
  University of Liverpool
  Tel: +44 (0)151 795 4243
  K.M.Atkinson [a*t] liverpool.ac.uk
• Simon Parsons
  Department of Computer Science
  University of Liverpool
  s.d.parsons [a*t] liverpool.ac.uk
  
• Iyad Rahwan
  

  Masdar Institute of Science & Technology P.O.Box 54224 Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates irahwan [a*t] acm.org

  School of Informatics University of Edinburgh Edinburgh, UK

ArgMAS Steering Committee

• Antonis Kakas (University of Cyprus, Cyprus)
• Nicolas Maudet (Universite Paris Dauphine, France)
• Peter McBurney (King's College London, UK)
• Pavlos Moraitis (Paris Descartes University, France)
• Simon Parsons (City University of New York, USA)
• Iyad Rahwan (Masdar Institute, UAE, and MIT, USA)
• Chris Reed (University of Dundee, UK)

Program Committee

• Leila Amgoud
• Katie Atkinson
• Jamal Bentahar
• Elizabeth Black
• Carlos Chesnevar
• Yannis Dimopoulos
• Paul Dunne
• Anthony Hunter
• Antonis Kakas
• Nikos Karacapilidis
• Nicolas Maudet
• Sanjay Modgil
• Nir Oren
• Simon Parsons
• Enric Plaza
• Henry Prakken
• Iyad Rahwan
• Chris Reed
• Guillermo Ricardo Simari
• Elizabeth Sklar
• Yuqing Tang
• Paolo Torroni
• Rogier Van-Eijk
• Doug Walton