How can agents communicate implicitly without explicit messages?
LEARNING TO CONSTRUCT IMPLICIT COMMUNICATION CHANNEL
November 5, 2024
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2411.01553This paper introduces Implicit Channel Protocol (ICP), a framework for multi-agent communication without explicit message passing. Agents use a subset of actions, called "scouting actions," with minimal impact on the environment, to convey information. A shared mapping translates information into these actions, creating an implicit communication channel.
Key points for LLM-based multi-agent systems:
- ICP offers a way for LLMs to communicate implicitly through actions rather than relying solely on explicit natural language messages. This could be beneficial in scenarios where direct communication is costly or restricted.
- The "scouting actions" could be analogous to specific LLM-generated outputs that have agreed-upon meanings within a multi-agent system, allowing for efficient information exchange.
- The concept of a learned communication protocol, as opposed to a predefined one, is highly relevant to LLMs, which can learn complex communication strategies. This allows for greater flexibility and adaptability in multi-agent systems.
- ICP's focus on efficient information transmission is directly applicable to LLM-based systems, where generating and processing natural language can be computationally expensive. Using implicit communication can reduce this overhead.