Robustness Based on Accountability in Multiagent Organizations

Multiagent system models do not typically encompass tools for tackling abnormal or exceptional situations. When a critical situation arises, and individual agents fail, the system as a whole usually fails, too. For realizing robust distributed systems, conceived as agent systems or organizations, it is necessary to keep a right level of situational awareness (of both agents and environment), through the introduction of the means for gathering and propagating feedback, upon which actions can be taken. This work proposes a notion of accountability that encompasses both a normative dimension, and a structural dimension, that serves for the purpose of robustness.