Logic-based automated multi-issue bilateral negotiation in peer-to-peer e-marketplaces

Abstract

Abstract. We present a novel logic-based framework to automate multi-issue bilateral negotiation in e-commerce settings. The approach exploits logic as communication language among agents, and optimization techniques in order to find Pareto-efficient agreements. We introduce P(N ), a propositional logic extended with concrete domains, which allows one to model relations among issues (both numerical and non-numerical ones) via logical entailment, differently from wellknown approaches that describe issues as uncorrelated. Through P(N ) it is possible to represent buyer's request, seller's supply and their respective preferences as formulas endowed with a formal semantics, e.g., "if I spend more than 30000 e for a sedan then I want more than a two-years warranty and a GPS system included". We mix logic and utility theory in order to express preferences in a qualitative and quantitative way. We illustrate the theoretical framework, the logical language, the one-shot negotiation protocol we adopt, and show we are able to compute Pareto-efficient outcomes, using a mediator to solve an optimization problem. We prove the computational adequacy of our method by studying the complexity of the problem of finding Pareto-efficient solutions in our setting.

Decision Making Model for Intelligent Agent in Automated Negotiation

“…Recent theoretical work about agent has clarified the role of goals, intentions, and commitment in constraining the reasoning that an agent performs [7]. There has been some work about constructing abstract model for agent.…”

Combining Boolean Games with the Power of Ontologies for Automated Multi-attribute Negotiation in the Semantic Web

“…The approach does not take preferences into account, so that it is not possible to compute utility values and check if the reached agreement is Pareto-optimal or a Nash equilibrium. In the work by Ragone et al [22], a basic propositional logic framework endowed with an ontology was proposed, which is further extended in [25], introducing the extended logic P(N ) (a propositional logic with concrete domains), thus handling numerical features, and showed how to compute Pareto-optimal agreements, by solving an optimization problem and adopting a one-shot negotiation protocol.…”

Multiattribute Bilateral Negotiation in a Logic-Based E-Marketplace

“…In this chapter we present an application based on an underlying theoretical framework to automatically negotiate in e-marketplaces 1 , focusing in particular on three key aspects: (i) preference elicitation from non-expert users through an easy-to-use graphical user interface (UI); (ii) preference representation using a logical language mixed to utility theory to allow users to express both qualitative and quantitative preferences among inter-related issues; (iii) computation of optimal agreements in a framework where preferences are expressed through a logical language. We analyze these issues in a particular case study-namely, the one of automotive e-markets-to ground our approach in a real use case scenario 2 .…”