Invited Speakers

Speaker: Jeff Kephart

Title: Multi-agent Systems for Autonomic Green Data Centers

Abstract: Autonomic computing is a grand-challenge vision in which computing systems manage themselves in accordance with high-level objectives from humans. Data centers are arguably the ultimate challenge for autonomic computing, consisting of complex multi-vendor composites of thousands of  hardware and software components operating on time scales ranging from nanoseconds to hours. Increasingly, many of the constituent products are becoming adaptive or self-regulating, yet they must somehow work in concert to satisfy overall performance, availability, and power objectives and constraints. We are beginning to see instances in which the presence of multiple adaptive products within data centers can lead to situations in which they work at cross purposes. I will describe our efforts at IBM Research to apply multi-agent concepts and principles to the development of autonomic technologies that work coherently with one another to reduce energy consumption in data centers without unduly sacrificing performance.

 

Speaker: Jan Broersen

Title: "From norm creation through norm revision to norm acceptance: experiences from the Luxembourg workshop on norm change"

Abstract: In this talk I sketch the issues and questions addressed during the 2007 Luxembourg workshop on norm change. I categorize the contributions to the workshop by showing how each of them focuses on a particular fragment of what might be called the `life cycle' of norms. Pushing this metaphor even further, I will address questions like `where do norms come from?', `where do norms live?', `why do norms "die"?', etc.