What, exactly, is an 'AI Agent'? Here's a litmus test

What is an ”AI agent”? Confusion abounds. There is also some consensus: agents must of course be AI-driven systems. They should have some degree of autonomy, and they should be able to use tools in addition to understanding and reasoning. But why isn't, say, ChatGPT an agent? According to most definitions out there, it actually is. Yet most (including OpenAI themselves) don’t describe it that way. In general, we seem to have a sense of “we’ll know it when we see it” with AI agents. To guide our building efforts at Tines, we wanted a more precise definition. So we came up with our own objective criteria – a litmus test – for agents. It boils down to identity. Learning from the law Agency is a longstanding concept in common law, where principals give authority to agents to act on their behalf. For example, a company could appoint a real estate broker to find an office. Or an individual could hire a travel agent to organize a vacation. What happens when such an agent breaks the law? ... Read full article.