The Anatomy of an Agent: What Makes an Agent, an Agent?
I recently ran an internal session for a semi-technical audience with the title “What makes an agent, an agent?” When I proposed the subject, the concept was met with real enthusiasm, which I took as a sign that people would welcome a plain answer to a question they are assumed to have settled already. The word “agent” is used so loosely at the moment that people who build these systems will each give you a different answer about what it means....