COMMUNICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR COOPERATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING SYSTEMS

Despite lip service that "most knowledge-based systems are intended to be of assistance to human endeavor and are almost never intended to be autonomous agents", knowledge-based systems research has not been focused enough on the nature and the requirements of cooperative problem solving systems. The emphasis of our work is on creating computer systems to facilitate the cooperation between a human and a computer. Cooperation requires more from a system than having a nice user interface or supporting natural language dialogs. One needs a richer theory of problem solving, which analyzes the functions of shared representations, mixed-initiative dialogs, argumentation and management of trouble. Our evolving theoretical framework for this approach has led to a number of prototypical systems developments which serve as vehicles for future research. Examination of these systems provides evidence that learning and effective problem solving can be improved through the use of cooperative problem solving systems. © 1990.