https://non-neutralzero.github.io/notebook/tags/agents/Recent content in Agents on Digital Notebook NonNeutralZeroHugoen-usWed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://non-neutralzero.github.io/notebook/posts/agentic-ai/Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://non-neutralzero.github.io/notebook/posts/agentic-ai/<p>What are &ldquo;agents&rdquo; ? Instead of duck-testing this, let&rsquo;s ask what mechanically makes a program an agent ? (rather than a function call with good marketing)</p> <h2 id="1-what-is-agency-">1. What is agency ?<a class="anchor" href="#1-what-is-agency-">#</a></h2> <p>The <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/agency">Cambridge dictionary</a> says: <em>the ability to take action or to choose what action to take.</em></p> <h2 id="2-where-does-the-agency-come-from-in-agentic-ai">2. Where does the agency come from in agentic AI?<a class="anchor" href="#2-where-does-the-agency-come-from-in-agentic-ai">#</a></h2> <p>An LLM, on its own, is a function mapping a text to a text. You give it a prompt, it returns one completion, and then it is done. It cannot check the weather. It cannot notice it was wrong and try again. So where does the <em>agency</em> come from?</p>