Abstract
Emerging technologies such as software agents are making information systems easier to implement and use by allowing people to delegate work to the computer. Software agents were first used several years ago to find and filter information, automate routine behaviour and match people with similar interests. Open environments such as the Internet and World Wide Web have also enabled the increasing use of software agents in information systems. Today the field of software agency is a promising research which brings together and draws on results from many disciplines, such as artificial intelligence (AI), computer science, sociology, economics, organisational behaviour and philosophy. Multi-agent systems consist of several software agents that cooperate to perform a common task. Because of their wide scope and multi-disciplinary nature, it is difficult to define software agents in a few words. The term “agent” has been so widely used that, according to Finin et al. (1997), anything might qualify as an agent these days. To serve as a starting point and as a constant point of reference for reading this paper, we define software agents as:
“autonomous software entities having the abilities to sense on and react to their environment, as well as to communicate and cooperate with other agents in order to accomplish their duties or functions which are delegated from their human users”.
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Chong, S., Liu, K. (2002). A Semiotic Approach to Improve the Design Quality of Agent-Based Information Systems. In: Liu, K., Clarke, R.J., Andersen, P.B., Stamper, R.K. (eds) Coordination and Communication Using Signs. Information and Organization Design Series, vol 2. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0803-8_10
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