A logic of delegation

AbstractDelegation is a foundational concept for understanding and engineering systems that interact and execute tasks autonomously. By extending recent work on tensed action logic, it becomes possible to pin down a specific interpretation of responsibility with a well specified semantics and a convenient and intuitive logic for expression. Once descriptions of direct agent responsibility can be formed, there is a foundation upon which to characterise the dynamics of how responsibility can be acquired, transferred and discharged and, in particular, how delegation can be effected. The resulting logic, designed specifically to cater for responsibility and delegation, can then be employed to offer an axiological and semantic exploration of the related concepts of forbearance, imperatives and group communication