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What does the term agents actually mean in AI, and is the technology working?

agentsAI ProductFuture of Work

Drawn from Lutz Finger's Forbes column, LinkedIn writing, and Cornell teaching. Sources are cited inline so you can read the originals.

Agents has three definitions but the technology isn’t quite there yet

Agents is one of the most diluted terms, almost useless. There are three working definitions. First, a virtual agent representation that helps with support tickets. Second, the technical definition where you close the control loop with AI so output becomes input, doing multiple iterations without humans to solve higher level tasks, like booking a ticket. Those aren’t really working yet. The tech isn’t quite there, and these elements are very unpredictable for complex tasks. Third, any time an LLM calls out to a tool, like sending email. The term itself is almost useless, but the things it’s talking about are very real trends.

The Future of AI, with Martin Casado · The Keynote on AI


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