Arational agent orrational being is a person or entity that always aims to performoptimal actions based on given premises and information. A rational agent can be anything that makes decisions, typically aperson,firm,machine, orsoftware.
The concept of rational agents can be found in various disciplines such asartificial intelligence,cognitive science,decision theory,economics,ethics,game theory, and the study ofpractical reason.
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In reference to economics, rational agent refers to hypothetical consumers and how they make decisions in afree market. This concept is one of the assumptions made inneoclassical economic theory. The concept of economicrationality arises from a tradition ofmarginal analysis used in neoclassical economics. The idea of a rational agent is important to the philosophy ofutilitarianism, as detailed by philosopherJeremy Bentham's theory of thefelicific calculus, also known as the hedonistic calculus.
The action a rational agent takes depends on:
Ingame theory and classicaleconomics, it is often assumed that theactors, people, and firms are rational. However, the extent to which people and firms behave rationally is subject to debate. Economists often assume the models ofrational choice theory andbounded 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 thetraveler's dilemma.
Neuroeconomics is a concept that usesneuroscience, socialpsychology 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 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 tointelligent agents, autonomous software programs that display intelligence.[1]