Issues in the Development of Human-Computer Mixed-Initiative Planning Systems

Mixed-initiative planning systems are systems in which humans and machines collaborate in the development and management of plans. The "initiative" in such systems is shared in that each can contribute to the formulation, development, management, refinement, analysis and repair of the plans developed "without being asked explicitly". Intuitively, the goal is to develop a style of interaction where both men and computers can further the state of an ongoing planning activity through contributions that include the many activities that surround the actual construction of plans, but are not normally part of what current Artificial Intelligence (AI) planning systems do. In this paper, we discuss some of the research areas that are likely to be important in transitioning prototype AI planning systems to a new role as collaborator in a mixed human/machine collective planning process. This paper is, in large part, the result of a series of discussions that took place in late 1993 and early 1994, among a group of AI researchers working on planning, supported by the ARPA/Rome Laboratory sponsored initiative in military planning and scheduling.