Integrating Subjective Knowledge Bases through an Extended Belief Game Model

Abstract

Belief merging is concerned with the integration of several not necessarily consistent belief bases such that a coherent belief base is developed as a result. Various belief merging models often consist of two key functions, namely: negotiation, and weakening. A negotiation function finds the weakest belief bases among the available belief bases, and then the selected belief bases concede based on a weakening function. This process is iteratively repeated until a consistent belief base is developed. In this paper, we extend the existing belief merging models by introducing the extended belief game model. The extended belief game model operates over a subjective belief profile, which consists of belief bases with subjectively annotated formulae. The subjective information attached to each formula enables the proposed model to prioritize the formulae in the merging process. We provide several instantiations of the merging model by introducing suitable functions.