Marek, it's a great reminder that algorithms have been around a long time, but could I quibble over whether this example was an "agent" or not? Certainly at one level: it was "doing things on a human's behalf".
But it was still a simple one-step process (I think): look at data, execute a transaction. There are thousands of algorithms that do that every day in business processes (airline pricing, production line optimization, spotify playlists...).
In order to differentiate from those uses, doesn't the notion of "agents" have to involve the management of some sequential steps and choices and/or decisions over what other algorithms to use?
You're right, Timo! The stuff from 20, 30 or 40 years ago was much less sophisticated than what we have access to right now. The way I like to think about it though, it's exactly the same way I think about AI: the definition shifts with time and technology progress.
What seemed magical (and in this case "agentic") for us 20 years ago, might seem very pedestrian and non-magical-at-all right now.
So probably not an agent by today's definitions (autonomy, learning, adaptability), but definitely an agent back then!
Marek, it's a great reminder that algorithms have been around a long time, but could I quibble over whether this example was an "agent" or not? Certainly at one level: it was "doing things on a human's behalf".
But it was still a simple one-step process (I think): look at data, execute a transaction. There are thousands of algorithms that do that every day in business processes (airline pricing, production line optimization, spotify playlists...).
In order to differentiate from those uses, doesn't the notion of "agents" have to involve the management of some sequential steps and choices and/or decisions over what other algorithms to use?
You're right, Timo! The stuff from 20, 30 or 40 years ago was much less sophisticated than what we have access to right now. The way I like to think about it though, it's exactly the same way I think about AI: the definition shifts with time and technology progress.
What seemed magical (and in this case "agentic") for us 20 years ago, might seem very pedestrian and non-magical-at-all right now.
So probably not an agent by today's definitions (autonomy, learning, adaptability), but definitely an agent back then!