Hi,

I have just signed up to this forum to keep abreast of general
discussions and thoughts on the semantic web as I am currently
draftfing up a paper and roadmap on the semantic web with emphaisise
on Intelligent Rational Software Agents.

My initial viewing has led me to point out that many discussions on
this forum and beyond do not discuss issues beyond the Semantic Web
infrastructure. There is tons of research going on in this area and
most of the infrastructure is set up. (RDF(s), OWL, Ontologies etc
etc and noting that the semantic web is an extension of our existing
WWW infrastructure). It is my opinion that there is not enough
attention to such agents, which I consider a key component for the
Semntic Web to 'Flourish'.

I just wondered if anyone could add value to my thinking in the
context of "non co-operative agents". I am trying to elaborate
on "non co-operative" towards 'Bad' agents, where people may
design / program such agents and let them 'loose' on the Semantic
Web. Does anyone think that this will happen / possible?... Noting
that building such an agent exhibiting "rational" and "intelligent"
properties is no easy task plus we haven't managed to achieve this
with debates on defining what is "rational" in an Artifical Society
context. Plus many researches debate over whether the BDI model
(Bratman)is the way to go about desigining "rational" agents.

It is apparant that such intelligent rational software agents will
probably not be present on the Semantic Web (when it is complete)
anytime soon.

Any thoughts on whether we will see "bad" agents on the Semantic Web
will be appreciated! Obviously I assume yes due to viruses we have
today but I may be overlooking some areas! If anyone else is
interested / involved with this area, it may be good to discuss
these matters!

If I can help anyone with anything please reply to this message!

Cheers, Steve :)