Abstract
This paper explores the possibility of, and potential for, using a socio-cognitive theory of shame and embarrassment in agent-agent socio-economic interaction. We use this theory to specify an idea of digital blush, i.e. a representation of the state of embarrassment of an agent according to an evaluation of its behaviour by its peers. Through a detailed worked example, we demonstrate how digital blush offers a higher-level, finer-grained control of/over agent behaviour than typically strict, rule-based security mechanisms. We propose digital blush both as a computational device for self-regulation in certain types of multi-agent information trading applications, and, by representing an agent’s shame and embarrassment through some form of status visualisation, discuss its potential as a socio-technical device for affecting “presence”, especially in what we refer to as socio-cognitive grids.
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Acknowledgements
This research was partially supported by the European Union IST FET Project ALFEBIITE (IST-1999-10298). Particular thanks are due to the partners on this project, especially in this case Cristiano Castelfranchi, but also Alexander Artikis, Jon Bing, Andrew Jones, Giovanni Sartor and Marek Sergot. The insightful comments of the reviewers and the editors were especially helpful in revising the paper, and this input is much appreciated. The term ‘digital blush’ was invented by Wanli Cheng, and thanks for that.
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Pitt, J. Digital blush: towards shame and embarrassment in multi-agent information trading applications. Cogn Tech Work 6, 23–36 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-003-0144-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-003-0144-9