AI Agents: What They Are, What They Are Not, and What They Mean for Our Industry

In the breathless cycle of AI development, the whole field is seemingly converging on the notion of AI agents being the next big thing. These are small and intelligent AI programs that can not only contextually reason from input data but take autonomous action. Think about a program that could, from a simple prompt, not only suggest vacation locations, but find the best prices, book flights, accommodations, and activities, based on what the AI agent knows about you and your family. Or schedule meetings, draft and send invites to exactly the people that should be in the meeting.

As always, the idea is seductive but more complex than we're told. In this as in anything else related to AI, hype runs rampant. To cut through it and get a ground view from those who are roadmapping and implementing agents in large organizations, we have invited AI implementation expert Brian Evergreen to come and talk to us. Formerly with Accenture and Microsoft, Brian wrote the absolute best book about AI implementation, Autonomous Transformation: Creating a More Human Future, and he is now helping large organizations think about and implement AI agents. A former musician and chess champion, Brian is half-creative half-technologist, and one of the most sober and forward-thinking experts on AI implementation out there.