Agent
- Definition
- A program that continuously perceives and acts on its environment, without human intervention.
Once a software agent is started up, it keeps executing autonomously to perform its task.
Agents come in all forms, from simple to complex. These are the main levels of complexity:
- A simple reflexive agent follows simple rules to determine its next action
- A state based agent keeps a representation of the environment to better inform its decision
- A goal based agent has goals to achieve, and creates plans or searches for ways to decide what to do next
- A utility based agent distinguishes between possible actions by choosing the one that best matches a utility function
Examples
- Vacuum-cleaning robot
- Chatbot
When should you use it?
- If the task requires an autonomous program that is permanently active and runs without human intervention