Plans and resource‐bounded practical reasoning

An architecture for a rational agent must allow for means‐end reasoning, for the weighing of competing alternatives, and for interactions betwen these two forms of reasoning. Such an architecture must also address the problem of resource boundedness. We sketch a solution of the first problem that points the way to a solution of the second. In particular, we present a high‐level specification of the practical‐reasoning component of an architecture for a resource‐bounded rational agent. In this architecture, a major role of the agent's plans is to constrain the amount of further practical reasoning she must perform.