The world of autonomous distributed systems [chapter]

Frances Brazier
2008 Studies in Computational Intelligence  
Todays world is dynamic, distributed and connected in time, space and tasks. Systems, both human and automated, interact continuously in highly dynamic environments. Some connections are relatively stable, others change very frequently, as systems and their needs change. Virtual organisations of autonomous systems are formed/emerge on the basis of characteristics such as availability, reliability, interests. Similarity, difference and/or other measures are the basis for evolving formations of
more » ... ganisations. Different paradigms for distributed autonomous system development exist: p2p systems, the Grid, Autonomic Computing, Service Oriented Systems, Ambient Systems, to Multi-agent systems. Load balancing, crisis management, swarm applications, supply change management, energy management, data center management, traffic management, recommender systems, are examples of domains in which one or more of these approaches to distributed autonomous system design have been applied. From the perspective of the users, as participants in such distributed systems, the precise technology is not of importance. The implications of the use of the technology is. This paper addresses a number of the issues shared by these paradigms and identifies a need for a framework for an understanding of the implications of the deployment of autonomous systems from the perspective of the human user..
doi:10.1007/978-3-540-74930-1_1 fatcat:awapxqzg2za6bgty3nhah74sle