Acting rationally: rational agent

Rational behavior: doing the right thing

The right thing: that which is expected to maximize goal achievement, given the available information

Doesn't necessarily involve thinking – e.g., blinking reflex – but thinking should be in the service of rational action


An agent is an entity that perceives and acts

Intelligent agents – more than mere programs – attributes such as operating autonomously, perceiving their environment, adapting to change

Uncertainty may be involved

For any given class of environments and tasks, we seek the agent (or class of agents) with the best performance

Computational limitations make perfect rationality unachievable



Logic reasoning is needed but not enough
Correct inference is just one of several possible mechanisms for achieving rationality
All the skills from the Turing test are needed