No one knows what the hell an AI agent is

Silicon Valley Bullish on AI agents. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says agents This year “join in the workforce”The Agents that Microsoft’s CEO predicted the true Nadella Will replace the work of the specified knowledgeThe Salesforce CEO Mark Benef said that the goal of Salesforce is “The number one supplier of digital labor in the worldThrough the “various” agents “services of the organization.

However no one seem to agree on what AI agent can agree on IsOk

In the last few years, the technology industry has courageously announced that AI “Agents” – the latest lightning – the latest lightning – everything is about to change. AI Chatbots are similarly OPIC AAIP CEOs like Altman and Nadella claimed that our information had given new ways to the surface, the agents would basically change how we go to work.

It may be true. However, it also depends on how “agents” also depends on which is not an easy task. Like other AI-related jargons (such as “multimodal,” “AGI,” and “AI” itself), the word “agent” and “agent” are mixing at the point of meaningless.

It threatens to create the entire product lineup around agents in a vicious place in Open, Microsoft, Microsoft, Salesforce, Amazon, Google and countless other companies. Aamazon’s agent is not like Google or any other vendor agent and it leads to confusion – and leads the customer’s disappointment.

Ryan Salva, a senior director of Google Product and former Githab Kapilot leader, says he has come to “hate” the word “agents”.

“I think our industry is almost unreasonable to the word ‘agent’ where it is almost unreasonable,” Salva told TechCrunch in an interview. “[It is] One of my pets. “

The definition of agent is not new. In a piece of last year, former TechCrunch Reporter Ron Miller Inquiry: What is AI agent? The problem he identified is that almost every company building agents communicate with technology separately.

This is a problem that has been worse recently.

This week, Open Publish a blog post Those defined agents are “automatic systems that can perform the tasks independently on behalf of users.” Yet the same week, the company has been released Developer documentation That agents have been defined as “LLMs equipped with instructions and equipment”.

The API Product Marketing of OpenAI was the Lehr reader later said at one X posts That he realized the word “assistant” and “agents” to be exchangeable – more wounding the water.

In the me, Microsoft Try Distinction Between agents and AI assistants. Former, which Microsoft calls “new apps” for “AI-powered world”, can be created for a special skill, on the other hand, supporters only help in general work to draft emails.

The AI ​​Lab addresses the Hajjpage of ethnographic agents a bit more directly. A Blog postThe anthropologist states that agents can “define in different ways”, both “completely autonomous systems that are operated independently during the extended period” and including both the “adventurial implementation that follows the predetermined work flow”.

The Salesforce probably has the most wide definition of AI “Agent”. According to the software giant, Are agents “A kind […] The system that can understand and respond to customer search without human intervention. The “organization website” general reflex agent “to” Utility-based agent “has a list of six different categories.

So why the chaos?

Ok, agents – like AI – it’s a nebulus thing and they are constantly developed. Openi, Google and confusion have just started shipping considering their first agent – Operator, Google’s project marinerAnd Shopping agent of confusion – and across all maps of their power.

GVP Rich Villar of the Worldwide study of IDC mentions that technology companies have “a long history” to strictly adhere to technical definitions.

They are more careful about what they want to achieve at the technical level, “the villages told TechCrunch,” Especially in the market developed fast. “

However, according to Andrew NG, the founder of AI Learning Platform Diplaining.

In a recent interview with NG, the concepts of “AI ‘agents’ and ‘agents’ workflos were a technical meaning,” but about a year ago, marketers and several large companies captured them. “

Lack of integrated definition for agents is an opportunity and a challenge, both AI’s head Jim Rowan for Dilotte. On the one hand, ambiguity allows for flexibility, companies allow agents to customize for their needs. On the other hand, it – and can be rationally already – “mistakes” and agent projects may be difficult to measure value and more.

Rowan said, “Without at least a standard definition of any organization, it became a challenge for benchmark performance and confirmed the consequences,” Rowan said. “This may result in various explanations of what AI agents should be provided, potentially complicate the project’s goals and results. In the end, though flexibility can run creative solutions, more standardized understanding initiatives will help to better navigate the AI ​​agent landscape and maximize their investment. “

Unfortunately, if the word “AI” is unveiled, it seems that the industry will soon be combined with a definition of “agent” at any time – if ever.