Cooperative information agents V

These proceedings document the Fifth International Workshop on Cooperative Information Agents, held in Modena, Italy, from September 6-8, 2001. Information agent technology has emerged as a crucial component of the Internet and World Wide Web, addressing challenges in cyberspace from both technological and user perspectives. Developing these agents requires expertise across various disciplines, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), advanced databases, knowledge base systems, distributed information systems, information retrieval, and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). The workshop continued its tradition of fostering interdisciplinary collaboration by inviting contributions from diverse research communities and encouraging open discussions on related topics. It featured a series of regular and invited talks by leading experts, focusing on the challenges faced by information agents in the era of ubiquitous and pervasive computing. Key issues discussed included the efficient utilization, evolution, and trust management of information agents for user-oriented information search, provision, and visualization in environments with small, mobile, and embedded devices. Additionally, the potential for agent-based support in massive distributed data warehousing on a global scale was explored.