The fundamental principle of coactive design: Interdependence must shape autonomy

Abstract

This article presents the fundamental principle of Coactive Design, a new approach being developed to address the increasingly sophisticated roles for both people and agents in mixed human-agent systems. The fundamental principle of Coactive Design is that the underlying interdependence of participants in joint activity is a critical factor in the design of human-agent systems. In order to enable appropriate interaction, an understanding of the potential interdependencies among groups of humans and agents working together in a given situation should be used to shape the way agent architectures and individual agent capabilities for autonomy are designed. Increased effectiveness in human-agent teamwork hinges not merely on trying to make agents more independent through their autonomy, but also in striving to make them more capable of sophisticated interdependent joint activity with people. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.