Technology LearningWhat an Agent Actually Is
"AI agent" is used to mean at least four different things, and the confusion is expensive: people build autonomous agents for jobs one prompt would have done better. This book fixes the vocabulary. The agent loop in four steps - think, act, observe, decide - and why step four is the whole definition. The real distinction between a workflow and an agent, in Anthropic's own terms. A three-rung ladder from single prompt to workflow to agent, with a test for each rung. The four conditions that justify climbing, the four costs nobody mentions, and the three principles - simplicity, transparency, and the agent-computer interface - that keep agents working.
What is inside
How this book is built, and why you can trust it.
- Every model name, price, limit and feature was checked against the vendor's own published documentation
- Every number in a worked cost example was computed, not estimated
- One idea per chapter, in plain English
- Five challenges with a full answer key, and a glossary
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