Design of a Generic Learning Interface Agent

An interface agent is a semi-intelligent, semi-autonomous computational system which assists a user with a computer application. Such an agent is called a learning agent if it monitors and memorizes the user's actions and preferences, discovers regularities in these, and learns to automate them. This thesis discusses research done into the design of a generic learning interface agent. An off-the-shelf electronic mail application was modified to take advantage of current learning interface agent technology. In this test arena, many issues and unresolved questions about a generic agent were discovered. This research led to an initial generic agent architecture presented in this document. Thesis Supervisor: Patricia E. Maes Title: Assistant Professor of Media Arts and Sciences