Operational Rationality through Compilation of Anytime Algorithms

The solution is based on the replacement of standard modules of a program with more flexible computation elements that are called anytime algorithms (Dean and Boddy 1988; Horvitz 1989). In addition, the solution includes an offline compilation process and a run-time monitoring component that guarantee that the agent is performing the correct amount of thinking in a well-defined sense. Artificial agents must perform some real-time deliberation to solve such problems as path planning and task scheduling. An important aspect of intelligent behavior is the capability of agents to factor the cost of deliberation into the deliberation process. Two factors determine the cost of deliberation: (1) the resources consumed by the process, primarily computation time, and (2) constant change in the environment that might decrease the relevance of the outcome and, hence, reduce its value.