News & Announcements

• (6 April 2010) The program is now posted.
• (3 Mar 2010) We are delighted to announce that ArgMAS will feature an invited lecture by philosopher David Hitchcock. See below for more details.
• (5 Dec 2009) ArgMAS 2010 web page up.

Overview

This workshop will focus on the concepts, theories, methodologies, and applications of computational models of argumentation in building 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.). An agent may use argumentation techniques to perform individual reasoning, in order 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 this workshop will be to bring together the community of researchers working on argumentation in multi-agent systems. The workshop has the following technical goals:

1. To explore the use of argumentation in practical reasoning.
2. To investigate how argumentation can be used to enable rational interaction between autonomous agents.
3. 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.
4. To explore strategic reasoning and behaviour in argumentation-based interaction.
5. To understand how argumentation relates to other areas of multiagent research, such as game theory, agent communications, and planning.
6. To present and encourage implemented systems which demonstrate the use of argumentation in multi-agent systems.

The workshop will solicit papers looking at both theory and practice. 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.

Post-proceedings of previous editions of the workshop have been published in the following Springer LNCS volumes:

	I. Rahwan and P. Moraitis (Eds.) (2009). Argumentation in Multi-Agent Systems: Fifth International Workshop, ArgMAS 2008, Estoril, Portugal, May 2008 Revised Selected and Invited Papers, Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, Volume 5384, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany..
	I. Rahwan, S. Parsons, and C. Reed (Eds.) (2008). Argumentation in Multi-Agent Systems: Forth International Workshop, ArgMAS 2007, Honolulu, HI, USA, May 2007 Revised Selected and Invited Papers, Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, Volume 4946, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany.
	N. Maudet, S. Parsons and I. Rahwan (Eds.) (2007). Argumentation in Multi-Agent Systems: Third International Workshop, ArgMAS 2006 Hakodate, Japan, May 8, 2006 Revised Selected and Invited Papers, Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, Volume 4766, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany.
	S. Parsons, N. Maudet, P. Moraitis, and I. Rahwan (Eds.) (2006). Argumentation in Multi-Agent Systems Second International Workshop, ArgMAS 2005, Utrecht, Netherlands, July 26, 2005, Revised Selected and Invited Papers. Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, Volume 4049, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany.
	I. Rahwan, P. Moraitis and C. Reed (Eds.) (2005). Argumentation in Multi-Agent Systems: Proceedings of the First International Workshop (ArgMAS'04): Expanded and Invited Contributions. Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, Volume 3366, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany.

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

Accepted Papers

PAPERS ACCEPTED FOR FULL PRESENTATION

• Elizabeth Black and Katie Atkinson. Agreeing what to do
• Respondent: Eric Kok
  
• Chukwuemeka David Emele, Timothy J. Norman, Frank Guerin and Simon Parsons. On the Benefits of Argumentation-derived Evidence in Learning Policies
• Respondent: Tom van der Weide
• Marcela Capobianco and Guillermo R. Simari. An Argument-Based Multi-Agent System for Information Integration
• Respondent: Tim Norman
• Tom van der Weide, Frank Dignum, John-Jules Meyer, Henry Prakken and Gerard Vreeswijk. Arguing About Preferences And Decisions
• Respondent: Maxime Morge
• Eric Kok, John-Jules Meyer, Henry Prakken and Gerard Vreeswijk. A Formal Argumentation Framework for Deliberation Dialogues
• Respondent: Elizabeth Black
• Yuqing Tang, Timothy Norman and Simon Parsons. Computing Argumentation in Polynomial Number of BDD Operations:  A Preliminary Report
• Respondent: Guillermo Simari
• Simon Parsons, Peter McBurney and Elizabeth Sklar. Reasoning about Trust using Argumentation: A Position Paper

• Kenichi OKUNO and Kazuko TAKAHASHI. Argumentation System Allowing Suspend/Resume of an Argumentation Line
• Maxime Morge and Sameh Abdel-Naby. Towards a dialectical approach for conversational agents in selling situations
• M. Julieta Marcos, Marcelo A. Falappa and Guillermo R. Simari. Dynamic Argumentation in Abstract Dialogue Frameworks
• Toshiko Wakaki. Preference-based Argumentation Capturing Prioritized Logic Programming
• Enric Plaza and Santiago Ontañón. Empirical Argumentation: Integrating Induction and Argumentation in MAS
• Ioan Alfred Letia and Adrian Groza. Towards Pragmatic Argumentative Agents within a Fuzzy Description Logic Framework
• Stella Heras, Vicente Botti and Vicente Julian. On a Computational Model of Argument for Agent Societies

Invited Talk

• Speaker: David Hitchcock, Professor of Philosophy, McMaster University, Canada
• Title: "Instrumental Rationality"

Programme

• 0900 Opening and Welcome
• 0900 – 1215: Session 1, Practical Reasoning
• 0900 – 0930:  Black
• 0930 – 1000:  Kok
• 1000 – 1030:  Coffee
  
• 1030 – 1045:  Ontanon
• 1045 – 1115:  Weide
• 1115 – 1215:  Hitchcock (Invited Talk)
• 1215 – 1345:  Lunch
• 1345 – 1500: Session 2, Applications
  
• 1345 – 1400:  Morge
• 1400 – 1430:  Emele
• 1430 – 1445:  Heras
• 1445 – 1500:  Parsons
• 1500 – 1530:  Coffee
• 1530 - 1730: Session 3, Theoretical Aspects
  
• 1530 – 1600:  Capobianco
• 1600 – 1615:  Okuno
• 1615 – 1630:  Marcos
• 1630 – 1700:  Tang
• 1700 – 1715:  Wakaki
• 1715 – 1730:  Letia
• 1730:  Close of ArgMAS 2010 

Important Dates

Note that these dates are set by AAMAS and cannot be extended.

Submission Deadline:	2 February 2010
Notification of Acceptance/Rejection:	2 March 2010
Camera Ready Due:	7 March 2010
Workshop:	10 May 2010

Publication

The proceedings of ArgMAS will be printed and distributed at the workshop.

As done 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 Artificial Intelligence (LNAI) series. This publication would have an ISBN number, and would be available both in printed form, as well as electronically on the SpringerLink online library.

Submission Procedure

As with previous workshops, each ArgMAS submission will be reviewed anonymously by two members of the expert program committee, who will exercise rigorous standards in evaluating the papers.

Contributors may submit either full papers (no longer than 18 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 must be submitted through a dedicated EasyChair site, which can be found at:

http://www.easychair.org/conferences/?conf=argmas2010

At least one author of each accepted papers must register for the workshop.

Organising Committee

Co-Chairs:

• Peter McBurney (Corresponding Organiser)
  Department of Computer Science
  Ashton Building, University of Liverpool
  Liverpool L69 3BX, UK
  mcburney [at] liverpool.ac.uk
• Simon Parsons
  Department of Computer and Information Science
  Brooklyn College
  City University of New York
  2900 Bedford Avenue
  Brooklyn, 11210 NY
• Iyad Rahwan
  

  Information Technology Program Masdar Institute of Science & Tech P.O.Box 54224 Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates

  (Visiting Scholar) Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA USA

ArgMAS Steering Committee

• Antonis Kakas (University of Cyprus, Cyprus)
• Nicolas Maudet (Universite Paris Dauphine, France)
• Peter McBurney (University of Liverpool, UK)
• Pavlos Moraitis (Paris Descartes University, France)
• Simon Parsons (City University of New York, USA)
• Iyad Rahwan (British University in Dubai, UAE, and University of Edinburgh, UK)
• Chris Reed (University of Dundee, UK)

Program Committee

• Leila Amgoud, IRIT, Toulouse, France
• Katie Atkinson, University of Liverpool, UK
• Jamal Bentahar, Concordia University, Canada
• Elizabeth Black, Oxford University, UK
• Guido Boella, Università di Torino, Italy
• Carlos Chesnevar, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Argentina
• Frank Dignum, Utrecht University, Netherlands
• Yannis Dimopoulos, University of Cyprus, Cyprus
• Sylvie Doutre, University of Toulouse 1, France
• Rogier van Eijk, Utrecht University, Netherlands
• Anthony Hunter, University College, London, UK
• Antonis Kakas, University of Cyprus, Cyprus
• Nikos Karacapilidis, University of Patras, Greece
• Nicolas Maudet, Universite Paris Dauphine, France
• Peter McBurney, University of Liverpool, UK
• Jarred McGinnis, London, UK
• Sanjay Modgil, Imperial College, London, UK
• Pavlos Moraitis, Paris Descartes University, France
• Tim Norman, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
• Nir Oren, King's College, London, UK
• Fabio Paglieri, ISTC-CNR, Roma IT
• Simon Parsons, City University of New York, USA
• Enric Plaza, Spanish Scientific Research Council, Spain
• Henri Prade, IRIT, Toulouse, France
• Henry Prakken, Utrecht University, & University of Groningen, The Netherlands
• Iyad Rahwan, Masdar Institute, UAE, & University of Edinburgh, UK
• Chris Reed, University of Dundee, Scotland, UK
• Michael Rovatsos, University of Edinburgh, UK
• Guillermo Simari, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Argentina
• Francesca Toni, Imperial College, London, UK
• Leon van der Torre, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
• Paolo Torroni, Università di Bologna, Italy
• Bart Verheij, University of Groningen, Netherlands
• Gerard Vreeswijk, Utrecht University, Netherlands
• Douglas Walton, University of Winnipeg, Canada
• Simon Wells, University of Dundee, Scotland, UK
• Michael Wooldridge, University of Liverpool, UK