Modelling Institutional Enactment in Multi-Agent Systems with Enact-as Rules
Resumo
In Multi-Agent Systems, constitutive rules specify institutional facts from environmental facts through the process of constitution. However, the opposite direction – the impact of institutional facts on the environment – has received little attention. This paper addresses this gap by proposing enact-as rules to specify environmental effects produced by institutional states. A formal model of enactment is presented together with a language for specifying enact-as rules and their execution semantics. The proposal has been implemented and integrated with institutional and environmental infrastructures, and its use is illustrated through an application example. The results show how institutional states can be explicitly connected to environmental effects, providing a dedicated mechanism for modelling the interaction between institutions and environments in Multi-Agent Systems.
Referências
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Cunha, R., Hübner, J. F., and de Brito, M. (2022). A conceptual model for situating purposes in artificial institutions. Revista de Informática Teórica e Aplicada, 29(1).
Dastani, M., Grossi, D., Meyer, J.-J., and Tinnemeier, N. (2009). Normative multi-agent programs and their logics. In Meyer, J.-J. and Broersen, J., editors, Knowledge Representation for Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, volume 5605 of LNCS. Springer.
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Fornara, N., Viganò, F., Verdicchio, M., and Colombetti, M. (2008). Artificial institutions: a model of institutional reality for open multiagent systems. Artificial Intelligence and Law, 16(1):89–105.
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Hübner, J. F., Boissier, O., and Bordini, R. H. (2011). A normative programming language for multi-agent organisations. Annals of Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence, 62(1-2):27–53.
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Piunti, M., Boissier, O., Hübner, J. F., and Ricci, A. (2010). Embodied organizations: a unifying perspective in programming agents, organizations and environments. In Fornara, N. and Vouros, G., editors, Workshop on Coordination, Organization, Institutions and Norms in agent systems (COIN10@MALLOW), volume 627. CEUR.
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Searle, J. (2010). Making the Social World:The Structure of Human Civilization. Oxford University Press.
Searle, J. R. (1997). The Construction of Social Reality. Free Press.
Viganò, F. and Colombetti, M. (2008). Model checking norms and sanctions in institutions. In Sichman, J. S. a., Padget, J., Ossowski, S., and Noriega, P., editors, Coordination, Organizations, Institutions, and Norms in Agent Systems III, volume 4870 of LNCS, pages 316–329. Springer.
Boella, G. and van der Torre, L. W. N. (2004). Regulative and constitutive norms in normative multiagent systems. In Dubois, D., Welty, C. A., and Williams, M.-A., editors, Principles of Knowledge Representation and Reasoning: Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference (KR2004), Whistler, Canada, June 2-5, 2004, pages 255–266. AAAI Press.
Boissier, O., Bordini, R. H., Hübner, J., and Ricci, A. (2020). Multi-Agent Oriented Programming: Programming Multi-Agent Systems Using JaCaMo. MIT Press.
Boissier, O., Bordini, R. H., Hübner, J. F., and Ricci, A. (2019). Dimensions in programming multi-agent systems. The Knowledge Engineering Review, 34.
Campos, J., López-Sánchez, M., Rodríguez-Aguilar, J., and Esteva, M. (2009). Formalising Situatedness and Adaptation in Electronic Institutions. In Hübner, J., Matson, E., Boissier, O., and Dignum, V., editors, Coordination, Organizations, Institutions and Norms in Agent Systems IV, volume 5428 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 126–139. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Cardoso, H. L. and Oliveira, E. C. (2007). Institutional reality and norms: Specifying and monitoring agent organizations. Int. J. Cooperative Inf. Syst., 16(1):67–95.
Cliffe, O., De Vos, M., and Padget, J. (2007). Answer set programming for representing and reasoning about virtual institutions. In Inoue, K., Satoh, K., and Toni, F., editors, Computational Logic in Multi-Agent Systems, volume 4371 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 60–79. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Cunha, R., Hübner, J. F., and de Brito, M. (2022). A conceptual model for situating purposes in artificial institutions. Revista de Informática Teórica e Aplicada, 29(1).
Dastani, M., Grossi, D., Meyer, J.-J., and Tinnemeier, N. (2009). Normative multi-agent programs and their logics. In Meyer, J.-J. and Broersen, J., editors, Knowledge Representation for Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, volume 5605 of LNCS. Springer.
de Brito, M., Hübner, J. F., and Boissier, O. (2015). Bringing constitutive dynamics to situated artificial institutions. In Proc. of 17th Portuguese Conference on Artificial Intelligence (EPIA 2015), volume 9273 of LNCS, pages 624–637. Springer.
de Brito, M., Hübner, J. F., and Boissier, O. (2018). Situated artificial institutions: stability, consistency, and flexibility in the regulation of agent societies. Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, 32(2):219–251.
de Brito, M., Hübner, J. F., and Boissier, O. (2019). Coupling the normative regulation with the constitutive state management in situated artificial institutions. The Knowledge Engineering Review, 34.
de Brito, M., Hübner, J. F., and Bordini, R. H. (2013). Programming institutional facts in multi-agent systems. In Aldewereld, H. and Sichman, J. S., editors, Coordination, Organizations, Institutions, and Norms in Agent Systems VIII: 14th International Workshop, COIN 2012, Held Co-located with AAMAS 2012, Valencia, Spain, June 5, 2012, Revised Selected Papers, volume 7756 of LNCS, pages 158–173. Springer.
Fornara, N., Viganò, F., Verdicchio, M., and Colombetti, M. (2008). Artificial institutions: a model of institutional reality for open multiagent systems. Artificial Intelligence and Law, 16(1):89–105.
Ghallab, M., Nau, D., and Traverso, P. (2016). Automated Planning and Acting. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Hildebrandt, M. (2008). Legal and technological normativity: More (and less) than twin sisters. Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology, 12(3).
Hübner, J. F., Boissier, O., and Bordini, R. H. (2011). A normative programming language for multi-agent organisations. Annals of Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence, 62(1-2):27–53.
Just, N. and Latzer, M. (2016). Governance by algorithms: Reality construction by algorithmic selection on the internet. Media Culture & Society, 39.
Piunti, M., Boissier, O., Hübner, J. F., and Ricci, A. (2010). Embodied organizations: a unifying perspective in programming agents, organizations and environments. In Fornara, N. and Vouros, G., editors, Workshop on Coordination, Organization, Institutions and Norms in agent systems (COIN10@MALLOW), volume 627. CEUR.
Schulz, W. and Dankert, K. (2016). ’governance by things’ as a challenge to regulation by law. Internet Policy Review, 5(2).
Searle, J. (2010). Making the Social World:The Structure of Human Civilization. Oxford University Press.
Searle, J. R. (1997). The Construction of Social Reality. Free Press.
Viganò, F. and Colombetti, M. (2008). Model checking norms and sanctions in institutions. In Sichman, J. S. a., Padget, J., Ossowski, S., and Noriega, P., editors, Coordination, Organizations, Institutions, and Norms in Agent Systems III, volume 4870 of LNCS, pages 316–329. Springer.
Publicado
19/10/2026
Como Citar
BRITO, Maiquel de; HÜBNER, Jomi F..
Modelling Institutional Enactment in Multi-Agent Systems with Enact-as Rules. In: WORKSHOP-ESCOLA DE SISTEMAS DE AGENTES, SEUS AMBIENTES E APLICAÇÕES (WESAAC), 20. , 2026, Cuiabá/MT.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2026
.
p. 74-85.
ISSN 2326-5434.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/wesaac.2026.30756.
