Tackling Temporal Deontic Challenges with Equilibrium Logic

Abstract

Combining temporal reasoning with normative requirements presents significant challenges. In this paper, we tackle the most relevant challenges in the literature from a computational perspective, using Answer Set Programming (ASP). We integrate Temporal Equilibrium Logic, the foundation of Temporal ASP, with Deontic Equilibrium Logic with Explicit Negation, to reason about norms in a temporal context. Our approach is validated by: (i) addressing key benchmarks for temporal normative systems, providing (ii) a normal form reduction that enables the use of existing tools, and (iii) a polynomial LTL reduction for a relevant logic fragment.