Advances in Argumentation-Based Negotiation

Abstract

Argumentation-based negotiation (ABN) is a prevailing approach for automated negotiation. It is based on the exchange of arguments that allow an agent to acquire additional information about the other agents and the particular circumstances of the negotiation, and can be used for attacking or justifying offers. This is an important element in resolving conflicts that very often are due to the assumptions agents have made when making decisions and which may be found to be false in the course of the negotiation. Argumentation-based negotiation can be characterized in terms of three main topics, namely a) the reasoning mechanisms the agents use for negotiating and which are based on argumentation, b) the protocols the agents use for conveying arguments and offers and, c) the strategies that determine their choices at each step of the negotiation. This chapter presents argumentationbased negotiation by discussing representative works dealing with these three topics.

Keywords: Automated Negotiation, Argumentation-based Negotiation, Computational Argumentation, Preference-based Argumentation, Argumentation-based Reasoning, Negotiation Protocols, Negotiation Strategies, Multi-agent Systems, Agent-based Computing, Agreement Technologies.