The Agent

A system that runs the model in a loop to reach a goal: it plans, acts, checks the result, and starts again.

The terms on this floor

19 entries

agentNo. 001An agent is a system that puts a model to work in a loop to reach a goal: it plans, acts, sees the result and starts again, like a person following a recipe, tasting and adjusting at each step.
agentic loopNo. 020The agentic loop is the cycle an agent repeats: it looks at where it stands, chooses an action, carries it out, takes note of the result, then starts again. Like someone looking for an address: they walk on, look up, correct their direction.
autonomyNo. 021Autonomy is the share of decisions that a system takes without asking you. It is not a switch but a slider, set gesture by gesture: like lending your car, where the permitted journey is agreed before the keys are handed over.
compounding reliabilityNo. 069Compounding reliability is the fact that a multi-step system only succeeds if every step succeeds: the rates multiply instead of adding up. Like a chain whose every link holds ninety-five per cent of the time, and which breaks almost every other time at ten links.
error recoveryNo. 073Error recovery is what an agent does when an action fails: noticing it, understanding why, and changing its approach rather than repeating. Like a locksmith who, the key not turning, tries a different grip before forcing the same one thirty times.
evalsNo. 024An eval is a series of test cases replayed at every change, to see whether the system still answers correctly. Like driving the same test route again after every adjustment: it does not prove that you drive well everywhere, only that you have broken nothing.
goalNo. 068A goal is the outcome an agent has to reach, stated once and held for the whole loop, whatever steps it takes to get there. Like an order placed with a craftsman: you say what you want to end up with, not the sequence of movements.
human in the loopNo. 027Human in the loop refers to the points where a system stops to ask for a person’s approval before acting. Like a bank transfer waiting for your confirmation: the machine has prepared everything, it does not take the last step on its own.
LLM as a judgeNo. 105An LLM as a judge is a model tasked with scoring another system’s answers against written criteria, where no mechanical comparison can do the job. Like a marker to whom you hand an essay along with the marking scheme: they are quick and they never tire, but the mark is only worth what the scheme is worth.
multi-agent systemNo. 071A multi-agent system has several agents work together, each with a role, its own tools and a separate context. Like a team where everyone holds their post, with the coordination overhead that any team implies.
observabilityNo. 026Observability is the ability to understand what a system is doing from what it records, without having to open it up again. Like a car dashboard: the needles repair nothing, they tell you where to look.
orchestrationNo. 028Orchestration is the organisation of work between several pieces that do not act at the same time: who calls whom, in what order, and what to do when one of them fails. Like a department head who hands out the case files and picks up the ones that get stuck.
planningNo. 022Planning is the moment when a system breaks a goal into steps before acting. Like writing a shopping list before going into the shop: the list guarantees nothing, but it saves you from wandering the aisles.
sandboxNo. 070A sandbox is the closed environment in which an agent carries out its actions: it has access to what has been placed there, and to nothing else. Like a workshop from which everything that must not be touched has been removed, rather than an instruction asking that it not be touched.
skillsNo. 103Skills are sets of instructions and resources filed away separately, which the system loads into its context only when the task calls for them. Like the ring binders on an office shelf: their spines stay visible at all times, but one is only opened on the day it is needed.
stopping conditionNo. 072The stopping condition is what puts an end to an agent’s loop: either the goal is reached and verified, or a limit is crossed. Like an oven timer paired with a thermometer: one says that it is cooked, the other that it has gone on long enough.
subagentNo. 023A subagent is an agent launched by another agent to handle part of the work, then hand back its result. Like sending someone on an errand: you give the instruction, they go, they come back with the bag, not with the journey.
traceNo. 025A trace is the record of what a system did, turn by turn: what it read, what it decided, what it executed. Like the black box of an aircraft: nobody consults it as long as all is well.
workflowNo. 016A workflow is a series of steps written in advance by a person, then executed automatically: like a recipe followed to the letter, where the order of the moves is fixed before anyone has even entered the kitchen.

The other floors

The grid

The Elevator is the infographic that maps these four floors: one and the same request, read again at every level.