In computer science, an intelligent agent (IA) is a software agent that exhibits some form of artificial intelligence that assists the user and will act on their behalf, in performing repetitive computer-related tasks. While the working of software agents used for operator assistance or data mining (sometimes referred to as bots) is often based on fixed pre-programmed rules, "intelligent" here implies the ability to adapt and learn.

In some literature IAs are also referred to as Autonomy intelligent agents, which means they act independently, and will learn and adapt to changing circumstances. According to Nicola Kasabov IA systems should exhibit the following characteristics:

• learn and improve through interaction with the environment (embodiment)
• adapt online and in real time
• learn quickly from large amounts of data
• accommodate new problem solving rules incrementally
• have memory based exemplar storage and retrieval capacities
• have parameters to represent short and long term memory, age, forgetting, etc.
• be able to analyze itself in terms of behavior, error and success

According to the Third Canadian Edition of "Management Information Systems for the Information Age" there are four essential types of Intelligent Agents:

1. Buyer agents or shopping bots
2. User or personal agents
3. Monitoring-and-surveillance agents
4. Data Mining agents

1. Buyer Agent

Buyer agents travel around a network (i.e. the internet) retreiving information about goods and services. These agents, also known as 'shopping bots', work very efficiently for commodity products such as CDs, books, electronic components, and other one-size-fits-all products. Amazon.com is a good example of a shopping bot. The website will offer you a list of books that you might like to buy on the basis of what you're buying now and what you have bought in the past.

2. User or Personal Agents

User agents, or personal agents, are intelligent agents that take action on your behalf. In this category belong those intelligent agents that already perform, or will shortly perform, the following tasks:

• Check your e-mail, sort it according to priority (your priority), and alert you when good stuff comes through - like college acceptance letters
• Play computer games as your opponent or patrol game areas for you
• Assemble customized news reports for you. There are several versions of these, CNN being a prime example
• Find information for you on the subject of your choice
• Fill out forms on the Web automatically for you, storing your information for future reference
• Scan Web pages looking for and highlighting text that constitutes the "important" part of the information there
• "Discuss" topics with you ranging from your deepest fears to sports

3. Monitoring-And-Surveillance Agents

These agents, also known as "predictive agents", are intelligent agents that observe and report on equipment. For example, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has an agent that monitors inventory, planning, and scheduling equipment ordering to keep costs down. These agents usually monitor complex computer networks that can keep track of the configuration of each computer connected to the network.

4. Data Mining Agents

A data mining agent operates in a data warehouse discovering information. A 'data warehouse' brings together information from lots of different sources. 'Data mining' is the process of looking through the data warehouse to find information that you can use to take action, such as ways to increase sales or keep customers who are considering defecting. 'Classification' is one of the most common types of data mining, which finds patterns in information and categorizes them into different classes. Data mining agents can also detect major shifts in trends or a key indicator and can detect the presence of new information and alert you to it.

There are hundreds of intelligent agents, or 'bots', for a wide variety of tasks. The BotSpot and SmartBot websites at www.botspot.com and www.smartbots.com are good places to look for the different types of agents available.

See also

• Agent environment - discussion of environment types
• Fuzzy agents - IA implemented with adaptive fuzzy logic
• Cognitive architectures - IA considered to be self-aware
• Multi-agent system and Multiple agent system - multiple interactive agents
• Reinforcement learning
• Cybernetics, Computer science
• Semantic web - making (approximations of) the meaning of web pages available for automated processing
• Federated search - the ability for agents to search heterogeneous data sources using a single vocabulary

References

1. rsnz.org Characteristics of an intelligent agent
2. Haag, Stephen. "Management Information Systems for the Information Age", 2006. Pages 224-228
3. Haag, Stephen. "Management Information Systems for the Information Age", 2006. Pages 224-228
4. Haag, Stephen. "Management Information Systems for the Information Age", 2006. Pages 224-228

External links

• Bridgeport
• Coneural

Artificial intelligence

Agent intelligent | Интеллектуальный агент