Time-Critical Reasoning: Representations and Application

We review the problem of time-critical ac­ tion and discuss a reformulation that shifts knowledge acquisition from the assessment of complex temporal probabilistic dependencies to the direct assessment of time-dependent utilities over key outcomes of interest. We dwell on a class of decision problems char­ acterized by the centrality of diagnosing and reacting in a timely manner to pathological processes. We motivate key ideas in the con­ text of trauma-care triage and transportation decisions.