Logical Agents

Chapter 7
(based on slides from Stuart
Russell and Hwee Tou Ng)
 Logical Agents
• Knowledge-based agents – agents that
have an explicit representation of
knowledge that can be reasoned with.

• These agents can manipulate this

knowledge to infer new things at the
“knowledge level”
 Outline
• Knowledge-based agents
• Wumpus world
• Logic in general - models and entailment
• Propositional (Boolean) logic
• Equivalence, validity, satisfiability
• Inference rules and theorem proving
– forward chaining
– backward chaining
– resolution
 Knowledge bases

• Knowledge base = set of sentences in a formal language

• Declarative approach to building an agent (or other
system):
– Tell it what it needs to know
• Then it can Ask itself what to do - answers should follow
from the KB
• Agents can be viewed at the knowledge level - i.e., what
they know, regardless of how implemented
• Or at the implementation level
– i.e., data structures in KB and algorithms that manipulate
them
 A simple knowledge-based agent

• The agent must be able to:

– Represent states, actions, etc.
– Incorporate new percepts
– Update internal representations of the world
– Deduce hidden properties of the world
– Deduce appropriate actions
A Wumpus World
 Wumpus World PEAS
description
• Performance measure
– gold +1000, death -1000
– -1 per step, -10 for using the arrow

• Environment: 4 x 4 grid of rooms

– Squares adjacent to wumpus are smelly
– Squares adjacent to pit are breezy
– Glitter iff gold is in the same square
– Shooting kills wumpus if you are facing it
– Shooting uses up the only arrow
– Grabbing picks up gold if in same square
– Releasing drops the gold in same square

• Sensors: Stench, Breeze, Glitter, Bump, Scream (shot Wumpus)

• Actuators: Left turn, Right turn, Forward, Grab, Release, Shoot
 Wumpus world characterization
• Fully Observable

• Deterministic

• Episodic

• Static

• Discrete

• Single-agent?
 Wumpus world characterization
• Fully Observable No – only local perception

• Deterministic

• Episodic

• Static

• Discrete

• Single-agent?
 Wumpus world characterization
• Fully Observable No – only local perception

• Deterministic Yes – outcomes exactly specified

• Episodic

• Static

• Discrete

• Single-agent?
 Wumpus world characterization
• Fully Observable No – only local perception

• Deterministic Yes – outcomes exactly specified

• Episodic No – sequential at the level of actions

• Static

• Discrete

• Single-agent?
 Wumpus world characterization
• Fully Observable No – only local perception

• Deterministic Yes – outcomes exactly specified

• Episodic No – sequential at the level of actions

• Static Yes – Wumpus and Pits do not move

• Discrete

• Single-agent?
 Wumpus world characterization
• Fully Observable No – only local perception

• Deterministic Yes – outcomes exactly specified

• Episodic No – sequential at the level of actions

• Static Yes – Wumpus and Pits do not move

• Discrete Yes

• Single-agent?
 Wumpus world characterization
• Fully Observable No – only local perception

• Deterministic Yes – outcomes exactly specified

• Episodic No – sequential at the level of actions

• Static Yes – Wumpus and Pits do not move

• Discrete Yes

• Single-agent? Yes – Wumpus is essentially a

natural feature
 Wumpus World
• Percepts given to the agent
1. Stench
2. Breeze
3. Glitter
4. Bumb (ran into a wall)
5. Scream (wumpus has been hit by arrow)

• Principle Difficulty: agent is initially ignorant of

the configuration of the environment – going to
have to reason to figure out where the gold is
without getting killed!
Exploring the Wumpus World

Initial situation:

Agent in 1,1 and percept is

[None, None, None, None,
None]

From this the agent can

infer the neighboring
squares are safe (otherwise
there would be a breeze or a
stench)
Exploring a wumpus world
Exploring a wumpus world
Exploring a wumpus world
Exploring a wumpus world
Exploring a wumpus world
Exploring a wumpus world
Exploring a wumpus world
Exploring a wumpus world
 Exploring a wumpus world

In each case where the agent draws a conclusion from the available
Information, that conclusion is guaranteed to be correct if the available
Information is correct…

This is a fundamental property of logical reasoning

 Logic in general
• Logics are formal languages for representing information
such that conclusions can be drawn

• Syntax defines how symbos can be put together to form

the sentences in the language

• Semantics define the "meaning" of sentences;

– i.e., define truth of a sentence in a world (given an interpretation)

• E.g., the language of arithmetic

– x+2 ≥ y is a sentence; x2+y > {} is not a sentence
– x+2 ≥ y is true iff the number x+2 is no less than the number y
– x+2 ≥ y is true in a world where x = 7, y = 1
– x+2 ≥ y is false in a world where x = 0, y = 6
 Entailment
• Entailment means that one thing follows logically
from another:
KB ╞ α

• Knowledge base KB entails sentence α if and

only if α is true in all worlds where KB is true
– E.g., the KB containing “the Phillies won” and “the
Reds won” entails “Either the Phillies won or the Reds
won”
– E.g., x+y = 4 entails 4 = x+y
– Entailment is a relationship between sentences (i.e.,
syntax) that is based on semantics
 Models
• Logicians typically think in terms of models, which are
formally structured worlds with respect to which truth can
be evaluated

• We say m is a model of a sentence α if α is true in m

• M(α) is the set of all models of α

• Then KB ╞ α iff M(KB)  M(α)

E.g. KB = Phillies won and

Yankees won α = Phillies won
Entailment in the wumpus world
Situation after detecting
nothing in [1,1], moving
right, breeze in [2,1]

Consider possible models for

KB assuming only pits

3 Boolean choices  8
possible models
Wumpus possible models
 Wumpus models

• KB = wumpus-world rules + observations

 Wumpus models

• KB = wumpus-world rules + observations

• α1 = “there is no pit in [1,2]", KB ╞ α1, proved by model
checking
 Wumpus models

• KB = wumpus-world rules + observations

 Wumpus models

• KB = wumpus-world rules + observations

• α2 = “there is no pit in [2,2]", KB ╞ α2
 Inference and Entailment
• Inference is a procedure that allows new sentences to be
derived from a knowledge base.

• Understanding inference and entailment: think of

– Set of all consequences of a KB as a haystack
– α as the needle

• Entailment is like the needle being in the haystack

• Inference is like finding it
 Inference
• KB ├i α = sentence α can be derived from KB by
inference procedure I
• Soundness: i is sound if whenever KB ├i α, it is also true
that KB╞ α
• Completeness: i is complete if whenever KB╞ α, it is also
true that KB ├i α
• Preview: we will define a logic (first-order logic) which is
expressive enough to say almost anything of interest,
and for which there exists a sound and complete
inference procedure.
• That is, the procedure will answer any question whose
answer follows from what is known by the KB.
 Step Back…

This is an inference procedure whose conclusions are guaranteed to be true

In any world where the premises are true.

If KB is true in the real world, then any sentence α derived

from KB by a sound inference procedure is also true in
the real world.
 Propositional logic: Syntax
• Propositional logic is the simplest logic – illustrates basic
ideas
• The proposition symbols P1, P2 etc are (atomic) sentences

– If S is a sentence, (S) is a sentence (negation)

– If S1 and S2 are sentences, (S1  S2) is a sentence (conjunction)

– If S1 and S2 are sentences, (S1  S2) is a sentence (disjunction)

– If S1 and S2 are sentences, (S1  S2) is a sentence (implication)

– If S1 and S2 are sentences, (S1  S2) is a sentence (biconditional)

 Propositional logic: Semantics
Each model specifies true/false for each proposition symbol

E.g. P1,2 P2,2 P3,1

false true false

With these symbols, 8 possible models, can be enumerated automatically.

Rules for evaluating truth with respect to a model m:

S is true iff S is false

S1  S2 is true iff S1 is true and S2 is true
S1  S2 is true iff S1is true or S2 is true
S1  S2 is true iff S1 is false or S2 is true
i.e., is false iff S1 is true and S2 is false
S1  S2 is true iff S1S2 is true andS2S1 is true

Simple recursive process evaluates an arbitrary sentence, e.g.,

P1,2  (P2,2  P3,1) = true  (true  false) = true  true = true

Truth tables for connectives
 Truth tables for connectives

John likes football and John likes baseball.

John likes football or John likes baseball.
(English or is a bit different…)
 Truth tables for connectives

John likes football and John likes baseball.

John likes football or John likes baseball.
If John likes football then John likes baseball.
(Note different from English – if John likes football
maps to false, then the sentence is true.)
(Implication seems to be if antecedent is true then
I claim the consequence is, otherwise I make no
claim.)
 Wumpus world sentences
Let Pi,j be true if there is a pit in [i, j].
Let Bi,j be true if there is a breeze in [i, j].

 P1,1
B1,1
B2,1

"Pits cause breezes in adjacent squares“

B1,1  (P1,2  P2,1)

B2,1  (P1,1  P2,2  P3,1)
 Simple Inference Procedure
• KB╞ α?
• Model checking – enumerate the models,
and check if α is true in every model in
which KB is true. Size of truth table
depends on # of atomic symbols.
• Remember – a model is a mapping of all
atomic symbols to true or false – use
semantics of connectives to come to an
interpretation for them.
Truth tables for inference
 Inference by enumeration
• Depth-first enumeration of all models is sound and complete

• For n symbols, time complexity is O(2n), space complexity is O(n)

 Logical equivalence
• Two sentences are logically equivalent iff true in same
models: α ≡ ß iff α╞ β and β╞ α
 Validity and satisfiability
A sentence is valid if it is true in all models,
e.g., True, A A, A  A, (A  (A  B))  B

Validity is connected to inference via the Deduction Theorem:

KB ╞ α if and only if (KB  α) is valid

A sentence is satisfiable if it is true in some model

e.g., A B, C

A sentence is unsatisfiable if it is true in no models

e.g., AA

Satisfiability is connected to inference via the following:

KB ╞ α if and only if (KB α) is unsatisfiable
 Proof methods
• Proof methods divide into (roughly) two kinds:
– Application of inference rules

• Legitimate (sound) generation of new sentences from old

• Proof = a sequence of inference rule applications

Can use inference rules as operators in a standard search
algorithm

• Typically require transformation of sentences into a normal form

– Model checking
• truth table enumeration (always exponential in n)
• improved backtracking, e.g., Davis--Putnam-Logemann-Loveland
(DPLL)
• heuristic search in model space (sound but incomplete)
e.g., min-conflicts-like hill-climbing algorithms
 Conversion to CNF
B1,1  (P1,2  P2,1)
1. Eliminate , replacing α  β with (α  β)(β  α).
(B1,1  (P1,2  P2,1))  ((P1,2  P2,1)  B1,1)

2. Eliminate , replacing α  β with α β.

(B1,1  P1,2  P2,1)  ((P1,2  P2,1)  B1,1)

3. Move  inwards using de Morgan's rules and double-

negation:
(B1,1  P1,2  P2,1)  ((P1,2  P2,1)  B1,1)

4. Apply distributivity law ( over ) and flatten:

(B1,1  P1,2  P2,1)  (P1,2  B1,1)  (P2,1  B1,1)
 Resolution example
• KB = (B1,1  (P1,2 P2,1))  B1,1 α = P1,2
•