Introduction: The Allure of the Autonomous Agent You’ve seen the headlines. You’ve watched the demos. The promise is intoxicating: a new class of AI, an “agent,” that you can hand a complex, multi-step task with little more than a five-word prompt. It independently devises a plan, navigates the web, makes judgments, and delivers a flawless, finished result. It’s the dream of a digital employee that not only executes but thinks.
