A rule-based approach to knowledge acquisition for man-machine interface programs

The development of computer programs, called agents, that act as man-machine interfaces for computer users are described. These programs are written in RITA: the Rule-directed Interactive Transaction Agent system, and are organized as sets of IF-THEN rules or “production systems.” The programs, or “personal computer agents,” are divided into two main categories: those that interface the user to computer systems he wishes to use and those that interact with the user to acquire the knowledge needed to create these interface programs. The relationship between the interface program and the knowledge acquisition program is that of parent-offspring. Three types of parent-offspring RITA agent pairs are described: (1) an exemplary programming agent that watches a user perform an arbitrary series of operations on the computer and then writes a program (a task agent) to perform the same task; (2) a tutoring agent that watches an expert demonstrate the use of an interactive computer language or local operating system and then creates a teaching agent that can, help naive users become familiar with the language or system demonstrated by the expert; and (3) a reactivemessage creating agent which elicits text from a user (the sender) and from it creates a new RITA agent which is a reactive message. The reactive message is sent to some other user (the recipient) who interacts with it. During the course of the interaction a record of the recipient's responses is sent back to the sender.