Reference: Horvitz, E. & Rutledge, G. Time-Dependent Utility and Action Under Uncertainty. Morgan Kaufman, Los Angeles, 1991.
Abstract: We discuss representing and reasoning with knowledge about the time-dependent utility of an agent's actions. Time-dependent utility plays a crucial role in the interaction between computation and action under bounded resources. We present a semantics for time-dependent utility and describe the use of time- dependent information in decision contexts. We illustrate our discussion with examples of time-pressured reasoning in Protos, a system constructed to explore the ideal control of inference by reasoners with limited abilities.