Local Belief Dynamics in Network Knowledge Bases

People are becoming increasingly more connected to each other as social networks continue to grow both in number and variety, and this is true for autonomous software agents as well. Taking them as a collection, such social platforms can be seen as one complex network with many different types of relations, different degrees of strength for each relation, and a wide range of information on each node. In this context, social media posts made by users are reflections of the content of their own individual (or local) knowledge bases; modeling how knowledge flows over the network? or how this can possibly occur? is therefore of great interest from a knowledge representation and reasoning perspective. In this article, we provide a formal introduction to the network knowledge base model, and then focus on the problem of how a single agents knowledge base changes when exposed to a stream of news items coming from other members of the network. We do so by taking the classical belief revision approach of first proposing desirable properties for how such a local operation should be carried out (theoretical characterization), arriving at three different families of local operators, exploring concrete algorithms (algorithmic characterization) for two of the families, and proving properties about the relationship between the two characterizations (representation theorem). One of the most important differences between our approach and the classical models of belief revision is that in our case the input is more complex, containing additional information about each piece of information.Fil: Gallo, Fabio Rafael. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Ciencias e Ingeniería de la Computación. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Ciencias e Ingeniería de la Computación. Instituto de Ciencias e Ingeniería de la Computación; ArgentinaFil: Simari, Gerardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Ciencias e Ingeniería de la Computación. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Ciencias e Ingeniería de la Computación. Instituto de Ciencias e Ingeniería de la Computación; ArgentinaFil: Martinez, Maria Vanina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Computación. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Computación; ArgentinaFil: Abad Santos, Natalia Vanesa. Universidad Nacional del Sur; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Falappa, Marcelo Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Ciencias e Ingeniería de la Computación. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Ciencias e Ingeniería de la Computación. Instituto de Ciencias e Ingeniería de la Computación; Argentin

Belief Dynamics in Complex Social Networks

People are becoming increasingly more connected to each other in social media networks. These networks are complex because in general there can be many di fferent types of relations, as well as di fferent degrees of strength for each one; moreover, these relations are dynamic because they can change over time. In this context, users' knowledge flows over the network, and modeling how this occurs - or can possibly occur - is therefore of great interest from a knowledge representation and reasoning perspective. In this paper, we focus on the problem of how a single user's knowledge base changes when exposed to a stream of news items coming from other members in the network. As a first step towards solving this problem, we identify possible solutions leveraging preexisting belief merging operators, and conclude that there is a gap that needs to be bridged between the application of such operators and a principled solution to the proposed problem.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativa (SADIO

Information and Design: Book Symposium on Luciano Floridi’s The Logic of Information

Purpose – To review and discuss Luciano Floridi’s 2019 book The Logic of Information: A Theory of Philosophy as Conceptual Design, the latest instalment in his philosophy of information (PI) tetralogy, particularly with respect to its implications for library and information studies (LIS). Design/methodology/approach – Nine scholars with research interests in philosophy and LIS read and responded to the book, raising critical and heuristic questions in the spirit of scholarly dialogue. Floridi responded to these questions. Findings – Floridi’s PI, including this latest publication, is of interest to LIS scholars, and much insight can be gained by exploring this connection. It seems also that LIS has the potential to contribute to PI’s further development in some respects. Research implications – Floridi’s PI work is technical philosophy for which many LIS scholars do not have the training or patience to engage with, yet doing so is rewarding. This suggests a role for translational work between philosophy and LIS. Originality/value – The book symposium format, not yet seen in LIS, provides forum for sustained, multifaceted and generative dialogue around ideas