Title
A Dempster-Shafer model of imprecise assertion strategies
Abstract
A Dempster-Shafer theory based model of assertion is proposed for multi-agent communications so as to capture both epistemic and strategic uncertainty. Treating assertion as a choice problem, we argue that for complex multi-agent communication systems, individual agents will only tend to have sufficient information to allow them to formulate imprecise strategies for choosing between different possible true assertions. In a propositional logic setting, an imprecise assertion strategy is defined as a functional mapping between a valuation and a set of true sentences, where the latter is assumed to contain the optimal assertion given that particular state of the world. Uncertainty is then quantified in terms of probability distributions defined on the joint space of valuations and strategies, naturally leading to Dempster-Shafer belief and plausibility measures on sets of possible assertions. This model is extended so as to include imprecise valuations and to provide a meta-level treatment of weak and strong assertions. As a case study, we consider the application of our proposed assertion models to the problem of choosing between a number of different vague descriptions, in the context of both epistemic and supervaluationist approaches to vagueness.
Year
DOI
Venue
2015
10.1016/j.jal.2014.12.003
Journal of Applied Logic
Keywords
Field
DocType
Multi-agent communication,Assertion strategies,Uncertainty,Vagueness
Vagueness,Assertion,Algorithm,Propositional calculus,Communications system,Probability distribution,Functional mapping,Artificial intelligence,Valuation (finance),Dempster–Shafer theory,Mathematics
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
13
4
1570-8683
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
0
0.34
13
Authors
2
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Henrietta Eyre100.34
Jonathan Lawry217219.06