A Functional Program for Agents, Actions, and Deontic Specifications

We outline the Abstract Contract Calculator, a prototype language implemented in Haskell (a declarative programming language) in which we model agents executing abstract actions relative to deontic concepts derived from Standard Deontic Logic and Dynamic Deontic Logic. The concepts of abstract actions are derived from Dynamic Logic. The logics are declarative, while the implementation is operational. Actions have explicit action preconditions and postconditions. We have deontic specification of complex actions. We implement a Contrary-to-Duty Obligations case. We distinguish Contrary-to-Duty Obligations from obligations on sequences, which has not previously been accounted for in the literature. The central innovation is the expression of complex violation and fulfillment markers. The language can be used to express a range of alternative notions of actions and deontic specification.

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