Contributions to a computational theory of policy advice and avoidability*. (24th October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: BOTTA, NICOLA; JANSSON, PATRIK; IONESCU, CEZAR
• Is Part Of: Journal of functional programming. Volume 27(2017)
• Publication Date: 2017-10-24
• Subjects: Functional programming (Computer science) -- Periodicals
• DOI: 10.1017/S0956796817000156
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0956-7968

Abstract

Abstract: We present the starting elements of a mathematical theory of policy advice and avoidability. More specifically, we formalize a cluster of notions related to policy advice, such as policy, viability, reachability, and propose a novel approach for assisting decision making, based on the concept of avoidability . We formalize avoidability as a relation between current and future states, investigate under which conditions this relation is decidable and propose a generic procedure for assessing avoidability. The formalization is constructive and makes extensive use of the correspondence between dependent types and logical propositions, decidable judgments are obtained through computations. Thus, we aim for a computational theory, and emphasize the role that computer science can play in global system science.