Adaptivity and Antifragility

A resilient system can survive attacks and failures by autonomously adapting and managing its own functionality. An antifragile system is not only resilient but is also able to enhance its capabilities and become more resilient as a result of endogenous and exogenous stressors. This makes antifragility a highly desirable property of cyber defense systems operating in dynamic, contested environments. In this chapter, we outline how antifragility can be achieved in AICA systems through self-management (self-adaptivity) and self-improvement. We introduce the concept of a self-* (S*) agent and – after elucidating the various self-* properties which such agents would be capable of realizing – we present a conceptual framework for S* multi-agent systems, encompassing S* agent architectures and macro−/micro-level design concepts, and describe a corresponding generic self-management/improvement approach. We then present an overview of AWaRE 2.0 as a concrete example of an S* system and middleware framework for antifragility. Throughout our exposition, we explain how S* agents and S* multi-agent systems are related to AICA agents and AICA cyber defense systems, and how the former can help the latter achieve resilience and antifragility. Finally, we discuss several key challenges related to coordination and agent organization for self-management and learning for self-improvement.