All day, every day, you make choices. Philosophers have long argued that this ability to act intentionally, or with agency, distinguishes human beings from simpler life-forms and machines. But artificial intelligence may soon transcend that divide now that technology companies are building AI “agents”—systems able to make decisions and achieve goals with minimal human oversight.
Facing pressure to show returns on multibillion-dollar investments, AI developers are promoting agents as the next wave of consumer tech. Agents, like chatbots, leverage large language models and are accessible from phones, tablets or other personal devices. But unlike chatbots, which need constant hand-holding to generate text or images, agents can autonomously interact with external apps to perform tasks on behalf of individuals or organizations. OpenAI has listed the existence of agents as the third of five steps to building artificial general intelligence (AGI)—AI that can outperform humans on any cognitive task—and the company is reportedly slated to release an agent code-named “Operator” in January. That system could be an early drop in a downpour: Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has predicted that AI agents will eventually outnumber humans. Some AI experts, meanwhile, fear that the commercialization of agents is a dangerous new step for an industry that has tended to prioritize speed over safety.
According to big tech’s sales pitch, agents will liberate human workers from drudgery, opening the door to more meaningful work (and big productivity gains for businesses). “By freeing us from mundane tasks, [agents] can empower us to focus on what truly matters: relationships, personal growth and informed decision-making,” says Iason Gabriel, a senior researcher at Google DeepMind. Last May the company unveiled a prototype of “Project Astra,” described as “a universal AI agent that is helpful in everyday life.” In a video demonstration, Astra speaks to a…
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