The society of objects

In this paper, I will first review the notions of objects and concurrent objects and discuss their main roles. Then, I will introduce two observations on our current computer systems and explain why we need an evolved notion of objects, which we call uut0num014~ agents, to describe open and distributed systems. An autonomous agent is a software individual that reacts to inputs according to its situation and its goal of survival. A collection of such autonomous agents shows emergent behaviors which cannot be ascribed to individuals, eventually forming a society. Research into achieving a society of autonomous agents being carried out at Sony Computer Science Laboratory and Keio University will then be presented. In the last section, I will speculate about yet-to-be-realized computational modules called volitional agents, that could be used to create safe, evolutionarily stable, cohabitating society.