On the semantics of protocols among distributed intelligent agents

A theory of the interaction among agents and a formal semantics for their interactions are presented. The semantics of the messages exchanged, not the process of exchanging them, is emphasized. A recent theory of communication that gives the object model-theoretic semantics for speech acts is applied to this problem. This allows the important properties of protocols to be formalized abstractly, i.e. at the level of the application, not of the implementation. Further constraints on good designs can also be stated, which simplify the requirements imposed on the member agents. The resulting theory not only provides some insights into designing distributed intelligence systems, but also helps in their validation. As an example, it is applied to a logical reconstruction of the classical Contract Net protocol.<>