Goal creation in motivated agents

Abstract

Goal creation is an important consideration for an agent that is required to behave autonomously in a real-world domain. This paper describes an agent that is directed, not by a conjunction of top level goals, but by a set of motives. The agent is motivated to create and prioritise different goals at different times as a part of an on-going activity under changing circumstances. Goals can be created both in reaction to, and in anticipation of a situation. While there has been much work on the creation of reactive goals, i.e. goals created in reaction to a situation, the issues involved in the creation of anticipatory, or proactive goals have not been considered in depth. The solution to the goal creation problem outlined here provides an agent with an effective method of creating goals both reactively and proactively, giving the agent a greater degree of autonomy.