Computer-supported collaborative argumentation and fuzzy similarity measures in multiple criteria decision making

Group decision making is usually performed in the presence of conflicting goals and criteria, brought up by spatially dispersed parties with different backgrounds and interests. Recent advances in information technology and computer science may satisfactorily address a variety of related problems, such as communication among the decision makers and efficient elicitation and representation of the domain knowledge. Furthermore, they may significantly automate the decision making process itself. On the other hand, the inherent uncertainty of the problem advocates the use of approximation models, often coming from the fuzzy sets discipline. This paper presents an integrated framework for multiple criteria decision making among groups on the World Wide Web. The agents involved use a fully implemented argumentative discourse system to pursue their criteria and objectives, the aim being the specification of the desired solution to the problem. The system organizes the collective knowledge in a discussion graph with truth maintenance and consistency checking features. Fuzzy similarity measures are then involved in order to assess alternative existing solutions with respect to the desired one.