Decision support for ethical problem solving: A multi-agent approach

This paper suggests that a multi-agent based decision aid can help individuals and groups consider ethical perspectives in the performance of their tasks. Normative and descriptive theories of ethical problem solving are reviewed. Normative theories are postulated as criteria used with practical reasoning during the problem solving process. Four decision aid roles are proposed: advisor, group facilitator, interaction coach, and forecaster. The research describes how the Theory of Planned Behavior from psychology can inform agent processing. The Belief-Desire-Intention model from artificial intelligence is discussed as a method to support user interaction, simulate problem solving, and predict future outcomes.

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