CSCW and Artificial Intelligence

Computing, despite the relative brevity of its history, has already evolved into a subject in which a fairly large number of subdisciplines can be identified. Moreover, there has been a noticeable tendency for the different branches of the subject each to develop its own intellectual culture, tradition and momentum. This is not, of course, to suggest that any individ­ ual subdiscipline has become a watertight compartment or that developments in one branch of the subject have tended to take place in total isolation from developments in other related areas. Nevertheless, it does mean that a deliberate effort is required in order to bring different subdisciplines together in a fruitful and beneficial manner. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Computer Supported Coopera­ tive Work (CSCW) jointly constitute a good example of two branches of computing that have emerged separately and given rise to largely distinct research communities and initiatives. On the one hand, the history of AI can be traced back to the 1950s, the term II Artificial Intelligence" being generally attributed to John McCarthy, who first used it in print in 1956. "Computer Supported Cooperative Work", on the other hand, is a term of more recent coinage, having'been devised by Irene Greif and Paul Cashman in 1984.

1 Towards a Cooperative Software Agent.- 1.1 Introduction.- 1.1.1 The Concept of Software Agents.- 1.1.2 A Description of Software Agents.- 1.1.3 Agents as Processes.- 1.1.4 An Analogy Based on Human Agents.- 1.1.5 Characteristics of an Interface Agent.- 1.2 Cooperation: A Behavioural Metaphor for Software Agents.- 1.2.1 Factors that Induce and Maintain Human Cooperation.- 1.2.2 Task Factors that Support Cooperation.- 1.2.3 Advantages of Cooperation During Problem Solving.- 1.2.4 Human-Computer Interaction.- 1.3 The Cooperative Machine.- 1.3.1 The Underlying Mechanisms of a Cooperative Machine.- 1.3.2 An Exemplarof Human-Computer Cooperation.- 1.4 Conclusions.- 2 A Framework for Negotiation.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Context.- 2.3 The Framework.- 2.4 Communications Support.- 2.5 Task Support.- 2.6 Group Support.- 2.6.1 Conference Agent.- 2.6.2 Floor Agent.- 2.6.3 Representation Agent.- 2.6.4 History Agent.- 2.6.5 Workstation Agent.- 2.6.6 Facilitator Agent.- 2.6.7 Data Agent.- 2.7 Conclusion.- 3 Environments for Cooperating Agents: Designing the Interface as Medium.- 3.1 Introduction.- 3.2 History.- 3.3 Active and Passive Interfaces.- 3.4 The Interface as Medium.- 3.5 Adaptive Interfaces.- 3.6 An Experiment in Embodied Adaptivity.- 3.7 Conferences and Cooperation.- 3.8 Designing the Medium.- 3.8.1 Separation.- 3.8.2 Access.- 3.8.3 Using Models of Interpersonal Communication.- 3.8.4 Using Models from Application Interfaces.- 3.9 Conclusions.- 4 Domain Knowledge Agents for Information Retrieval.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.1.1 Scope of Chapter.- 4.2 Agent Architecture.- 4.2.1 Document Agents.- 4.2.2 Knowledge Agents.- 4.2.3 Query Agents.- 4.3 Document Agents and their Co-Agents.- 4.4 Knowledge Agents.- 4.4.1 The “Agent Maker”.- 4.4.2 Automatically Generated Agents.- 4.4.3 Task-Specific Knowledge Agents.- 4.5 Object-Oriented Implementation.- 4.6 Conclusion.- 5 Autonomous Agents in the Support of Cooperative Authorship.- 5.1 Introduction.- 5.1.1 Scope of Chapter.- 5.2 A Model of Cooperative Authorship.- 5.3 The Definition of Loquacious-Agents and their Document Environment.- 5.3.1 Definition1.- 5.3.2 Definition2.- 5.3.3 Definition3.- 5.3.4 Definition4.- 5.3.5 Definition5.- 5.3.6 Definition6.- 5.3.7 Definition7.- 5.3.8 Definition8.- 5.4 The Four-Layer Model of Agent Communication.- 5.5 An Example Using an Ls-Agent: Rapporteur.- 5.6 Discussion and Conclusion.- 6 Agency within CSCW: Towards the Development of Active Cooperative Working Environments.- 6.1 Introduction.- 6.2 Related Research.- 6.3 The Cooperative Working Platform.- 6.3.1 Objectives.- 6.3.2 Design of the Cooperative Working Platform.- 6.3.3 Implementation Details.- 6.4 Conclusions.- 7 A Model for Supporting Interacting Knowledge Sources.- 7.1 Introduction.- 7.2 The Scope for AI in CSCW.- 7.3 Organizational Decision Making and Interacting Knowledge Sources.- 7.4 A Model for Supporting Interacting Knowledge Sources.- 7.5 Modelling Communication in Multiparticipant Settings.- 7.6 Conclusion.- 8 A Functional Model of Interacting Systems: A Semiotic Approach.- 8.1 Introduction.- 8.2 An Overview of Interaction.- 8.3 A Detailed View of Interaction.- 8.3.1 The Receptor.- 8.3.2 Deriving Semantics.- 8.3.3 Information and Knowledge.- 8.3.4 Transmission.- 8.3.5 Summary H.- 8.4 Discussion H.- 8.5 Conclusion.- Appendix A: Examples of the Model in Action.- A. l The Broadway Example.- A. 2 Insert New Line Example.- 9 Supporting Human Experts’ Collaborative Work: Modelling Organizational Context Knowledge in Cooperative Information Systems.- 9.1 Introduction.- 9.2 Related Work.- 9.3 FRESCO: Cooperating Expert Systems in Banking.- 9.3.1 Overview.- 9.3.2 The Cooperative Problem Solving Scenario.- 9.3.3 Shortcomings: An Organizational Perspective.- 9.4 Modelling Organizational Context Knowledge.- 9.5 A Multi-Layered Reference Coordination Architecture.- 9.6 Conclusions.- 10 Artificial Intelligence and Computer Supported Cooperative Working in International Contexts.- 10.1 Introduction.- 10.2 Communication Issues.- 10.2.1 Methods of Communication.- 10.2.2 The Internationalization of the Human-Computer Interface.- 10.2.3 The Social Dimension.- 10.3 Relevant Branches of AI.- 10.4 Communication Problems and the Role of AI.- 10.4.1 Intervention in the Communication Process.- 10.4.2 Support for System Users and Designers.- 10.5 Conclusion.- 11 On the Definition and Desirability of Autonomous User Agents in CSCW.- 11.1 Introduction.- 11.2 Incorporating the Differing Viewpoints of Social Scientists and Computer Scientists.- 11.3 CSCW Task Domains.- 11.4 Group Stages and Group Functions.- 11.5 Conclusions.- 11.5.1 How Intelligent Will Agents Be?.- 11.5.2 How Will They Be Displayed?.- 11.5.3 How Will They Support Group Working?.- 11.5.4 A Case Example.- References.- Name Index.