3 research outputs found
An operational approach for implementing normative agents in urban wastewater systems
Las políticas de gestión de la calidad del agua a nivel de cuenca hidrográfica son especialmente importantes para la prevención y/o reducción de la polución originada por el hombre en el medio ambiente. Los efluentes industriales son un elemento
prioritario particularmente en los Sistemas Urbanos de Aguas Residuales (SUAR) que reciben mezcladas las aguas residuales provenientes de viviendas particulares
y de industrias, así como el agua de lluvia. En este artículo, presentamos un análisis y una implementación de agentes normativos que capturan las regulaciones específicas de las políticas Catalanas de prevención de la polución. La implementación de los agentes
normativos está basada en el Cálculo de Situaciones. // Water quality management policies on a river basin scale are of special importance in order to prevent
and/or reduce environmental pollution caused by human sources. Industrial effluents are a priority issue particularly in Urban Wastewater Systems (UWS) that receive mixed household and industrial wastewaters, apart from rainfall water. In this paper, we present an analysis and implementation of normative agents that capture concrete regulations of the Catalan pollution- prevention policies. The implementation of the normative agents is based on Situation Calculus.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Communicating open systems
Just as conventional institutions are organisational structures for coordinating the activities of multiple interacting individuals, electronic institutions provide a computational analogue for coordinating the activities of multiple interacting software agents. In this paper, we argue that open multi-agent systems can be effectively designed and implemented as electronic institutions, for which we provide a comprehensive computational model. More specifically, the paper provides an operational semantics for electronic institutions, specifying the essential data structures, the state representation and the key operations necessary to implement them. We specify the agent workflow structure that is the core component of such electronic institutions and particular instantiations of knowledge representation languages that support the institutional model. In so doing, we provide the first formal account of the electronic institution concept in a rigorous and unambiguous way
Mobile, intelligent and autonomous policing tools and the law
This thesis resolves
around problems arising for the existing
legal framework from the use of
novel software-‐based
policing tools during criminal
investigations. The
increasing dependence on information and
communication technologies and the Internet means
that more aspects of people’s lives move online, and
crime follows them. This has triggered the development
of innovative, autonomous investigative technologies that
are increasingly replacing human officers for the policing
of the online sphere. While only recently discussions of
the legal status of embodied and unembodied robotical
devices have gained more widespread attention, discussions
of the legal status of autonomous agent technology are not
new. They have focussed however in the past on applications
in the private domain, enabling contract formation online. No
systematic study has so far been carried out that looks at the
use of autonomous agent technology when deployed by state
actors, to fulfil core state functions. This thesis starts with the
hypothesis that the use of automated, intelligent devices to
replicate core police functions in the online world will increase
in the future. Looking at first emerging technologies, but with an
eye
towards
future
deployment
of
much
more
capable
software
tools
that
fulfil
policing
functions
on
the
Internet,
this
thesis
looks
at
the
challenges
this
poses
for
regulators
and
software
developers.
Based
on
extensive
qualitative
research
interviews
with
stakeholders
from
two
different
jurisdictions
(Germany
&
UK)
this
thesis
finds
that
these
novel
policing
technologies
challenge
existing
legal
frameworks,
which
are
still
premised
on
the
parameters
of
the
offline
world.
It
therefore
develops
an
alternative
governance
model
for
these
policing
tools,
which
enables
their
law-‐compliant
use
and
prevents
rights
violations
of
suspects.
In
doing
so
it
draws
upon
both
worlds,
the
technical
and
the
legal,
while
also
incorporating
the
empirical
research
results
from
the
interviews
with
experts.
The
first
part
of
this
thesis
analyses
the
technical
foundations
of
these
software-‐based
policing
tools.
Here,
one
of
the
key
findings
is
that
the
current
governance
system
focuses
on
ex-‐ante
authorisation
of
very
specific,
individual
software
tools
without
developing
a
systematic
classification.
This contradicts the principle of sustainable law making. To overcome this piecemeal approach,
as a first contribution to existing research this work defines a new class of investigative technologies
– mobile, intelligent and autonomous (MIA) policing tools ‐ based on the findings of the technical
analysis. Identifying such a natural class of present and future technologies that pose the same type
of legal issues should facilitate the sustainable governance of these new policing tools. The second
part of this thesis analyses two specific legal issues: cross-jurisdictional investigations and the
evidentiary value of the seized data. These issues were identified as most pressing by the
experts interviewed for this work. This analysis reveals that investigative activities of MIA tools
are potentially in conflict with international law principles and criminal procedure law.
In order to gain legitimacy, these new policing tools need to operate within the parameters
of the existing legal framework. This thesis argues that given the unique technical capabilities
of MIA tools, the primary approach to achieving this is to assign legal responsibility to these
tools. The third part of this thesis develops
a novel governance approach to ensure that MIA tools operate within the parameters of the legal framework,
and therefore obtain legitimacy and relevance, also with regard
to the investigative results. This approach builds on existing research identifying
code as a regulatory modality and contributes to the field of legal
theory. It constitutes a solution for the governance problems of
MIA tools, however, it requires currently
lacking collaboration among stakeholders
and cross-disciplinary research