I Would If I Could: Reasoning about Dynamics of Actions in Multi-Agent Systems

2026-04-28

AI Summary

This work addresses the lack of a unified framework for modeling the dynamic interplay between action permissions and knowledge in multi-agent systems. It proposes ATL-D logic and its extension ATEL-D, which, for the first time, integrate mechanisms for granting and revoking actions with knowledge updates. By introducing dynamic action operators and epistemic operators into Alternating-time Temporal Logic (ATL), the framework jointly captures the evolution of permissions and knowledge. This significantly enhances the expressiveness of traditional strategic logics, establishes a semantic connection to normative systems, and demonstrates the superior expressive power of ATL-D over ATL. The paper also provides complexity results for key model-checking problems.

Abstract

Autonomous agents acting in realistic Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) should be able to adapt during their execution. Standard strategic logics, such as Alternating-time Temporal Logic (ATL), model agents' state- or history-dependent behaviour. However, the dynamic treatment of agents' available actions and their knowledge of required actions is still rarely addressed. In this paper, we introduce ATL with Dynamic Actions (ATL-D), which models the process of granting and revoking actions, and its extension ATEL-D, which captures how such updates affect agents' knowledge. Beyond the conceptual contribution, we provide several technical results: we analyse the expressivity of our logic in relation to ATL, study its relation to normative systems, and provide complexity results for relevant computational problems.

Problem

• Multi-Agent Systems
• Dynamic Actions
• Action Revocation
• Agent Knowledge
• Strategic Reasoning

Innovation

• Dynamic Actions
• Multi-Agent Systems
• Alternating-time Temporal Logic
• Epistemic Logic
• Normative Systems