Editing Rational agent

{{Short description|Entity that always performs optimal actions from given information}}
{{distinguish|rational animal}}
A '''rational agent''' or '''rational being''' is a person or entity that always aims to perform [[Optimization (mathematics)|optimal]] actions based on given premises and information. A rational agent can be anything that makes decisions, typically a [[person]], [[firm]], [[machine]], or [[software]].

The concept of rational agents can be found in various disciplines such as [[artificial intelligence]], [[cognitive science]], [[decision theory]], [[economics]], [[ethics]], [[game theory]], and the study of [[practical reason]].

==Economics==
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In reference to economics, rational agent refers to hypothetical consumers and how they make decisions in a [[free market]]. This concept is one of the assumptions made in [[neoclassical economics|neoclassical economic theory]]. The concept of economic [[rationality]] arises from a tradition of [[marginal analysis]] used in neoclassical economics. The idea of a rational agent is important to the philosophy of [[utilitarianism]], as detailed by philosopher [[Jeremy Bentham]]'s theory of the [[felicific calculus]], also known as the hedonistic calculus.

The action a rational agent takes depends on:
* the preferences of the agent
* the agent's information of its environment, which may come from past experiences
* the actions, duties and obligations available to the agent
* the estimated or actual benefits and the chances of success of the actions.

In [[game theory]] and classical [[economics]], it is often assumed that the [[actor]]s, people, and firms are rational.  However, the extent to which people and firms behave rationally is subject to debate.  Economists often assume the models of [[rational choice theory]] and [[bounded rationality]] to formalize and predict the behavior of individuals and firms.  Rational agents sometimes behave in manners that are counter-intuitive to many people, as in the [[traveler's dilemma]].

=== Alternate theories ===
[[Neuroeconomics]] is a concept that uses [[neuroscience]], social [[psychology]] and other fields of science to better understand how people make decisions.  Unlike rational agent theory, [[neuroeconomics]] does not attempt to predict large-scale human behavior but rather how individuals make decisions in case-by-case scenarios.

==Artificial intelligence==
[[Artificial intelligence]] has borrowed the term "rational agents" from economics to describe autonomous programs that are capable of goal directed behavior. Today there is a considerable overlap between AI research, game theory and decision theory. Rational agents in AI are closely related to ''[[intelligent agent]]s'', autonomous software programs that display intelligence.{{sfn|Russell|Norvig|2003|pp=27, 32–58, 968–972}}

== See also ==
===Economics===
* [[Agent (economics)]]
* [[Homo economicus]]
* [[Trade-off talking rational economic person|TOTREP]]

===Software===
* [[Autonomous agent]]
* [[Intelligent agent]]
* [[Software agent]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
===Economics and game theory===
* {{Citation |last1= Osborne |first1= Martin J. |authorlink1=Martin J. Osborne |last2= Rubinstein |first2= Ariel |authorlink2=Ariel Rubinstein|year= 2001 |title= A Course in Game Theory |publisher= MIT Press |location= Cambridge, Massachusetts |page= 4 |isbn= 0-262-65040-1 }}
* {{Citation |last= Veblen |first= Thorseien |authorlink=Thorstein Veblen| year= 1994 |title= Theory of the Leisure Class }}
===Artificial intelligence===
* {{Russell Norvig 2003}}

[[Category:Concepts in ethics]]
[[Category:Concepts in the philosophy of mind]]
[[Category:Game theory]]
[[Category:Neoclassical economics]]
[[Category:Reasoning]]
[[Category:Management theory]]
[[Category:Administrative theory]]