Abstract
In order for an agent to be considered both an interface agent and autonomous,
it follows that there must be some part of the interface that the agent must
operate in an autonomous fashion. The user must be able to directly observe
autonomous actions of the agent and the agent must be able to observe actions
taken autonomously by the user in the interface
The ability of a software agent to operate the same interface operated by the
human user, and the ability of a software agent to act independently of, and
concurrently with, the human user will become increasingly important
characteristics of human-computer interaction. Agents will observe what human
users do when they interact with interfaces, and provide assistance by
manipulating the interface themselves, while the user is thinking or performing
other operations. Increasingly, applications will be designed to be operated
simultaneously by users and their agents [1].
This study is motivated by the need to solve a problem of human resource
optimization in the first year informatics practical course as presented by the
R.A.U. Standard Bank Academy for Information Technology. The major aim
being the development of a prototype system capable of automatically grading
first year Microsoft Visual Basic.Net applications. The prototype system will
ultimately render assistants obsolete in the grading process and free the
assistants to help students with problems related to the informatics course.
Developing the envisaged prototype requires much preliminary reading on
artificial intelligence and its applications, more specifically autonomous interface
agent architecture. Case-based reasoning and machine learning has been
identified as having great potential and applicability in the development and
implementation of the envisaged prototype and for this reason these topics will
provide a foundation on which to build this dissertation.
Ehlers, E.M., Prof.