A framework called GUIDE is presented in which many agents can cooperate to answer a query or perform a task. Agents may be heterogeneous: they need not be intended to work together and need not share any vocabulary or representational conventions. The query can be phrased without knowing which agents are available or appropriate to carry it out. Query and agents are linked by a common application-domain theory. The query is phrased as a theorem; the answer is extracted from a proof in the theory. The answer may depend on background knowledge implied by the theory. The GUIDE's approach is domain-independent but is illustrated by answering questions involving maps and directories.
['Richard Waldinger']
Web agents cooperating deductively