Mediation = Information revelation + Analogical reasoning

Abstract

This paper presents an initial study of the relevant issues on the development of an automated mediation agent. The work is conducted within the ‘curious negotiator’ framework [1]. The paper demonstrates that mediation is a knowledge intensive process that integrates information revelation and analogical reasoning. The introduced formalism is used to demonstrate how via revealing the appropriate information and reshaping the set of issues of the disputing parties mediation can succeed. The paper presents MediaThor - a mediating agent that utilises past experiences and information from negotiating parties to mediate disputes and change the positions of negotiating parties.