Revisiting Russell & Norvig's Classic Definition of an AI Agent
philipkiely · x · 2026-08-03
The author seeks the simplest definition of an "agent," referencing Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig's 1995 classic Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach: "An agent is anything that can be viewed as perceiving its environment through sensors and acting upon that environment through effectors."
More than 30 years later, while the industry's focus has shifted toward "intelligence" and "tools," the core principle remains. The author concludes that without action, intelligence is merely chat; without intelligence, action is just rote automation. Together, they form an agent.
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