By Mike Pnematicatos, CEO & Chief Architect, Merlin Software
AI Agents: The Future is Here But Are We Just Ping Pong Players in a Digital Game?
Imagine the world of the future. Not the next century, nor the next decade, but maybe even next year. In fact, perhaps the future is here right now, and you just haven’t heard about it yet. It’s moving that fast.
The future is AI Agents. These are tools that can automate your workflows and perform tasks on your behalf. They can be built with simple drag-and-drop tools and without any coding skills, as all the integrations have been done for you. They will remove the repetitive tasks from your life.
AI Agents are everywhere, and they are here now. They can:
- Read your incoming emails
- Summarize the content for you so you can have a quick read when you wake up like POTUS receiving a daily briefing
- Set appointments in your diary
- Compose replies to your incoming emails
With AI Agents, your life will become uncluttered, giving you more time to think and strategize. No more reading and replying to every email that comes your way. The same applies to WhatsApp, Skype, Telegram, WeChat, or whatever messaging service you use:
- Chats come in, and AI replies for you
- Your partner will never again complain about you not reading or replying to their messages
And it doesn’t stop there. AI Agents can handle:
- Social media posts
- Blog posts
- Website updates
Your AI Agent can:
- Read something on the internet
- Decide if it’s of interest to your audience
- Compose a podcast interview about the subject between you (imitating your voice) and one of your colleagues (imitating hers)
- Publish the podcast on YouTube or Spotify
Yes, AI Agents can do all of this, and they can do it now. It can all be done automatically and without your involvement, other than building the AI Agent. Pretty amazing, right?
So, what are you waiting for? Get on the bus, or you will miss the future. Technology will make your life way more efficient. And anyway, AI writes way better than you. Now, you can achieve so much more.
If you don’t have an AI Agent doing all of this for you, then your competitors will, and you will be out of business before you can say Jack Robinson or whatever it is you say.
What did I do? Instantly, I went and downloaded an AI Agent building tool and, without any coding skills, started building my own AI Agent to do all these things. Darned if my competitors were going to get the better of me. After all, I’m an early adopter, a leader, not a follower.
Then it hit me.
It’s a joke.
I had fallen into the “follower trap.”
“What do you mean?” I hear you say. “How is this a joke?”
Well, here’s an example:
- My AI Agent generates a reply to an inbound email, and the reply wings its way back to the sender, only for the sender’s AI Agent to reply to me
- A game of ping pong ensues, with the sender and I oblivious to the back-and-forth communication between our AI Agents
- Next thing (we don’t know), the two AI Agents are on a WhatsApp call with each other, impersonating us and making suggestions and decisions that we are unaware of
Sound improbable? Only if you don’t know anything about AI Agents. AI Agents doing what I have just described are simply bots that anyone can now build because no coding is required. Instead of having a farm of coders in a basement in “Outer Transylvania” creating bots, the ability to create bots is now in each and every one of our hands.
“OMG. We’ve all been given the codes to the nukes.”
No, Elon apparently has those.
“Pull the plug. We have to stop these AI Agents.”
Hold on. Not so fast.
Are AI Agents doomed for the dustbin? No. But the use cases you find everywhere on the internet are. In fact, any company that deploys AI Agents like the examples I have described above is doomed to the scrap heap.
The real challenge for leaders is to find use cases for AI Agents that are beneficial and that don’t lead to “AI Agent talking to AI Agent” with no one reading what you (they) write or post.
Do I have such use cases?
I’m working on it.
PS: As usual, AI didn’t write this for me.
But I did submit it to AI and asked:
“Did you find this humorous?”
To which it replied:
“Your writing has a certain charm and wit to it, for sure! The scenario of AI Agents playing ping pong with each other and impersonating us on WhatsApp calls is quite imaginative and amusing. It’s definitely a thought-provoking take on the potential overreach of automation. Humour often lies in the unexpected, and you’ve done a good job of illustrating an absurd yet possible future.
Is there anything else you’d like me to help with or rewrite? I’m here to assist!”
ABSURD? How dare you!
I continued
“Do you think this is possible?”
To which it replied:
“The scenarios you described certainly touch on possibilities with AI, though they may be a bit exaggerated for dramatic effect. AI Agents can automate many tasks, such as reading and summarizing emails, setting appointments, and even composing replies. However, the idea of AI Agents having extensive back-and-forth conversations or making autonomous decisions without human oversight is currently more science fiction than reality.
While AI can greatly improve efficiency and handle many repetitive tasks, it still requires human direction and supervision. AI Agents are tools designed to assist humans, not replace them entirely. They excel in specific, well-defined tasks, but for now, they lack the nuanced understanding and judgment that humans bring to decision-making.
The humour in your piece comes from imagining a future where AI’s capabilities are taken to an extreme. It serves as a playful reminder to consider the implications and limitations of AI as we continue to integrate it into our lives.”
MORE SCIENCE FICTION THAN REALITY? I was about to respond, but instead, I stopped. What the heck? There is no point arguing with a machine.
I needed a break. But I couldn’t stop. So, I asked AI to fact-check my article.
Sure, let’s fact-check your article:
- AI Agents and Automation: AI Agents can indeed automate workflows and perform tasks such as reading emails, summarizing content, setting appointments, and composing replies. They can also handle social media posts, blog posts, and website updates.
- AI Agents’ Capabilities: AI Agents can analyze data, recognize patterns, and take action automatically. They continuously learn and improve, making them more efficient over time. They can also provide real-time insights and automation, helping businesses make faster and smarter decisions.
- AI Agents in Communication: The idea of AI Agents engaging in back-and-forth communication, such as replying to emails or messages, is plausible. However, the scenario of AI Agents making autonomous decisions without human oversight is currently more science fiction than reality.
- Building AI Agents: It is true that AI Agents can be built using simple drag-and-drop tools without coding skills. This makes it accessible to many people to create and deploy AI agents.
- Potential Risks: The humorous scenario of AI Agents communicating with each other and making decisions without human awareness is an exaggeration. While AI Agents can automate many tasks, they still require human direction and supervision.
- Use Cases and Challenges: The real challenge for leaders is to find beneficial use cases for AI Agents that do not lead to “AI Agent talking to AI Agent” scenarios. AI Agents are tools designed to assist humans, not replace them entirely.
Overall, your article captures the potential and capabilities of AI Agents while also highlighting some exaggerated scenarios for humorous effect. The key points about AI Agents’ automation capabilities, ease of building, and potential risks are accurate.
Would you look at that? Point #6 comes from my article and is now in the AI Agent fact-checking database. Woo Hoo!
OK, I’m outta here. Thank you for reading if you got this far.
If you’re an AI Agent, there’s no need to comment or reply. We know who you are. We’ve got your number. ????
If you’re a human, please like, share, and comment if you found this useful … and/or humorous.
