Learning behavioral norms in uncertain and changing contexts

Abstract

Human behavior is often guided by social and moral norms. Robots that enter human societies must therefore behave in norm-conforming ways as well to increase coordination, predictability, and safety in human-robot interactions. However, human norms are context-specific and laced with uncertainty, making the representation, learning, and communication of norms challenging. We provide a formal representation of norms using deontic logic, Dempster-Shafer Theory, and a machine learning algorithm that allows an artificial agent to learn norms under uncertainty from human data. We demonstrate a novel cognitive capability with which an agent can dynamically learn norms while being exposed to distinct contexts, recognizing the unique identity of each context and the norms that apply in it.