Autonomous AI Agents: Bridging the Gap to AGI

With the rise and rapid development of AI, we can see its increasing use and capabilities. Now, we can observe a hint that the creation of AGI, artificial general intelligence, is getting closer. AGI can learn and perform a specific task independently from a user. It still remains a theory, but autonomous AI agents may be considered a turn towards making it a reality.

Key takeaways:

•  AI agents complete complex tasks quickly, reduce errors, and lower operational costs by automating processes and handling multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Businesses, especially in fintech and banking sectors, benefit from AI agents’ ability to scale operations seamlessly and mitigate risks through real-time monitoring and predictive analytics.
• By automating decision-making and optimizing workflows, intelligent agents help companies stay ahead of the competition by improving efficiency, compliance, and customer service.

What are autonomous AI agents?

Autonomous AI agents are one of the newest innovations in the field of GenAI. They’re considered a new solution that can strongly influence businesses by streamlining repetitive tasks and supporting data-driven decisions. The AI agents are complex AI-driven systems that can perform assigned tasks independently. They can learn and adapt to their environment and make decisions to meet a specific goal.

Some experts consider them the next level of copilots that are more capable than the GenAI tools and platforms that we use and know now. Why is that? Mostly because autonomous AI agents will be able to understand what their goal is and learn how to achieve it. They can redesign workflow to do what’s required from them and automate it. All that without the need for human supervision.

In short, an autonomous AI agent can prioritize and complete a task without any help. Their workflow is based on iterating their actions until they reach their goal.

Matt Schlicht described an example of how such agents could work, for example, by helping out in research on the news about X. Then, he analyzed step by step how it would reach the objective. First, AI divides the objective into tasks that need to be completed (research, filtering information, making a summary). Then, it completes a task and reevaluates what else has to be done and in what order.

Once it figured out the proper order, it performs the tasks while continuously checking their relevancy. So, the agent knows it can’t produce a summary of the research without finding the right data sources first and then filtering the useful information. It verifies if, in the process, no new tasks appear that may influence the objective.

Benefits of using autonomous AI agents

Autonomous AI agents offer a wide range of features. They can work without human intervention, are highly reactive to changes in their setting, and proactive in addressing potential issues and completing tasks. The benefits of using autonomous agents are multiple.

Benefit#1: Efficiency and speed

Autonomous AI agents are capable of completing complex tasks in an efficient and fast manner. Thanks to their ability to process a lot of information in a short amount of time, they can reach conclusions quickly. Moreover, their computing power allows them to handle many tasks at the same time and adjust to the changing environment and requirements.

Fintech businesses and banks can benefit from their capabilities through automation and fast invoice processing, reducing manual errors. Such implementation also speeds up transaction time and helps meet proper requirements by monitoring transactions and reporting.

Benefit#2: Accuracy and reliability

Autonomous agents can process data quickly, and they also are very accurate. That’s why they can make the best decisions when addressing specific issues in the changing setting. Their accuracy level makes it possible to reduce possible errors and find dependable results. This minimizes the risk of human errors.

In banking, the accuracy of autonomous systems can be used to detect anomalies and identify suspicious activities. Additionally, the technology can help ensure adherence to regulatory requirements by analyzing transactions and minimizing compliance risks.

Benefit #3: Cost savings

AI agents can offer significant cost-saving opportunities by automating processes and improving efficiency. As a result, the implementation of this technology can considerably cut operating costs in customer service and also by being operational at all times.

The agents can work 24/7 without break and take over routine tasks to help shift the focus of employees on more important jobs, leading to improved productivity. Moreover, AI agents can handle multiple requests at the same time, decreasing the need to involve human assistants in many customer-related problems.

Benefit #4: Scalability

AI agents can help efficiently manage increasing workloads without cost increases. The system can attribute the required resources to handle more tasks or decrease the engagement by reducing its involvement.

Financial institutions can benefit from the possibility of scaling up or down their operations, managing an increased number of customer requests, and expanding their services with growing demand without additional cost.

Benefit #5: Risk management

The agents also play an essential role in improving risk management for banks and fintech companies by providing real-time monitoring, predictive analytics, and automated replies.

Thanks to continuous surveillance of financial transactions, the system can identify anomalies and potential risks. Moreover, with machine learning (ML) the agents can analyze previous actions and real-time data to forecast possible risks and propose mitigation strategies to avoid losses.

Benefit #6: Innovation and competitive advantage

Adding AI agents into everyday operations can visibly enhance innovation and provide a competitive advantage over other fintechs. The technology opens up new opportunities like improved decision-making, cost-effectiveness, and constant availability.

How do autonomous AI agents work?

Autonomous AI agents are advanced systems that use large language models (LLMs) to make decisions. However, to do so, they need to be equipped with tools and memory.  Tools enable LLM to get real-time data from the web, databases, and other sources.

Memory makes it possible for the agent to look into the past and see what has already been done. This way, the agent can learn from past actions and find patterns that are relevant to its objective.

These two, combined with LLM, create an agent that has more capabilities than bots and tools we know. When an agent has knowledge from tools, access to memory, and language models, it can use them to make decisions. The agent uses reinforcement learning to find feedback from its actions by trial and error. This way, the agent knows what to do next.

Here’s a diagram of the process created by Yohei Nakajima, the creator of BabyAGI:

In BabyAGI, the process works as follows:

1. The user has to provide the agent with an objective. An objective is then divided into tasks, and this creates a task queue.
2. The execution agent completes the tasks and sends task results to the task creation agent. The tasks are also stored in the memory.
3. Task creation agent uses the memory to find context for tasks and adds more tasks and subtasks to the task queue.
4. The task prioritization agent sets up the correct order of tasks. If tasks have already been completed, the prioritization agent removes them from the list.

The decision-making process, in this case, uses knowledge base, memory, and LLM. The agent analyzes the data, searches the memory for relevant information, and chooses the best options to complete the objective.

How are autonomous AI agents different from chatbots?

Autonomous AI agents have broader capabilities compared to chatbots. The main difference is that chatbots work based on natural language prompts, and their job is to fulfill one task using the input instructions. And this is when their job ends. Autonomous AI agents perform a more complex mission. They’re focused on completing an objective that includes multiple tasks that need to be ordered and evaluated before the objective completion.

Another difference is that a chatbot doesn’t learn from its responses. It neither stores what it produces nor knows if it is good or bad. Autonomous AI agents can learn and store the feedbacked information in the memory to refer to it and find the best solution. With feedback, they can improve and complete their objectives well.

Chatbots generate text responses based on the user input. Autonomous AI agents go a few steps further and can execute complex actions and operations using tools and memory. They can make a task list, prioritize, and order them to finally complete the objective.

Are autonomous AI agents the beginning of AGI?

The reference to AGI appears in many articles about autonomous AI agents. They are indeed more capable of performing more complex tasks than AI chatbots. Yet, AGI is still just a concept, and autonomous AI agents may be a possible step towards it. They’re not capable of what AGI should be able to do, like learning to perform actions like a human. They can, however, remember and learn, but still, they don’t match the AGI’s skills.

Autonomous AI Agents use LLM, memory and tools, and can perform limited actions. They can manage tasks, browse the web, manage a PC, etc., but this doesn’t mean they can perform on a human-like level, which is basically what AGI is.

Top autonomous AI agents

There are a lot of different autonomous AI agents to choose from. They all have various features and functions. The following list includes AI agents that are worth looking into.

AutoGPT

AutoGPT is an open-source AI agent created by Toran Bruce Richards. It is publicly available on GitHub. The autonomous AI agent works with OpenAI’s API for GPT-4. The agent has the ability to divide an objective into tasks without a user’s help. Then, it arranges the tasks in the order that will help complete the objective. It also has access to the web, so it can use up-to-date information to perform tasks. AutoGPT also offers a ready-to-go template to create your own agent, along with tutorials.

Best for: businesses that require complex problem-solving, automation, and data-driven decision-making across various processes, such as e-commerce and retail brands, or institutions offering financial services.

BabyAGI

BabyAgi is an AI task management system that uses OpenAI and Pinecone APIs. It can create, prioritize, and execute tasks. This is a Python script created by Yohei Nakajima that uses three agents to fulfill an objective: execution agent, task creation agent, and prioritization agent. Once the objective is defined, the agent breaks it down into a few tasks.

Then, it takes one task from the list and sends it to the execution agent that completes the task. The result is stored in a vector database. This allows for creating a new task and setting up a new order for the existing tasks. The execution agent, task creation agent, and prioritization agent then complete their jobs in a loop.

Best for: businesses that need task management, project automation, and multi-step decision-making, such as small to medium e-commerce companies, startups and legal firms.

Agent GPT

AgentGPT was created by Adam Watkins, Asim Shrestha, and Srijan Subedi. AgentGPT makes it possible to configure and deploy autonomous AI agents on a website. The user can choose an agent that already exists on the site or create a new one. AgentGPT also allows using external tools, such as Google search or code review.

The user can also modify the agent model via the OpenAI API key. The fact that this tool is available through a website makes it easy to use for non-technical users.

Best for: businesses that need higher-level decision-making, task automation, and multi-step process management, such as large e-commerce platforms and institutions offering financial services.

SuperAGI

SuperAGI is an open-source framework for developers to build and manage autonomous AI agents. It allows the creation and running of custom agent workflows using LLM ReAct architecture. Developers can augment the agents with custom knowledge by plugging in embeddings from the marketplace or using their own ones.

It also enables extending agents with tools such as GitHub, Jira, Slack, and Notion or adding a self-created toolkit.

Best for: businesses that need high-level automation, strategic decision-making, and long-term scalability, such as enterprises with complex operations, financial institutions, retail and e-commerce.

MetaGPT

MetaGPT is a multi-agent framework that offers different agent roles for a user. It was created by a group of researchers from Chinese and US universities. This is an LLM-based programming framework that allows collaboration in multi-agent systems. The main purpose is to assign different roles to GPT that will make a collaborative agent for complex objectives.

MetaGPT includes product managers, architects, project managers, and engineers acting as agents who can provide the entire process of a software company.

Best for: Businesses that can benefit from deep learning, multi-step workflows, and autonomous decision-making, such as technology, fintech and software companies.

AutoGen

AutoGen was created by Microsoft in cooperation with Pann State University and the University of Washington. AutoGen enables the building of complex multi-agent conversation systems. It’s a conversation framework with an open-source library. Users can create their own LLM workflows, maximizing the performance of LLM models.

Users can use multiple agents capable of learning independently and collaborating on what the user requests. AutoGen includes agents that support diverse conversation patterns and are customizable.

Best for: businesses that require multi-agent collaboration, decision-making, and task automation, such as corporations, financial institutions and software development companies.

How can autonomous AI agent be used?

Autonomous AI agents seem like a game-changer for many processes. Their ability to perform a task and learn thanks to access to memory definitely suggests they could be implemented in various fields. However, we should remember their applicability is still limited. There are risks associated with reliability, malicious use, and the threat of cyberattacks.

Some of the AI agents from the list above are already used and implemented by companies and business teams to facilitate various processes. They can be used for tasks like:
– project management
– business management
– customer support
– finance, or
– document automation

These are just a few examples of their implementation, as workflow automation, task execution, and other options for user assistance are still being developed and improved.

Let’s take a closer look at MetaGPT, which specializes in providing multi-AI role collaboration with agents who are bringing best practices for the user. MetaGPT offers adherence to standardized operating procedures (SOPs), so the code you get is vetted. The agents can be used to perform specific tasks with the use of GPT-3.4 architecture and other AI systems.

It can produce different outputs, like competitive analysis, documents, data structures, and more. It’s also capable of implementing human collaboration techniques to improve its outputs.

MetaGPT is a tool that can be used in software development, app and content creation, and more.

Industries revolutionized by AI agents

Autonomous AI agents have diverse applications, such as solving complex problems, task planning, automating tasks, and many more. Intelligent agents can help in writing code and data analysis, work as virtual assistants, and operate in multiple languages. That’s why they can be applied in real world scenarios in many industries.

How to choose the right autonomous AI agent

Finding the right autonomous AI agent is key to the company’s future benefits. There are a few elements that need to be considered.

Step#1: Organization needs

To choose the right artificial intelligence agent for your company, you need to know the specific needs of your business. You need to define the scope of tasks the agent can handle. Depending if you’re looking for a customer service agent, data analyst assistant, or a programming co-pilot, you need to know what the autonomous agent will do.

Step#2: Research and evaluation

Once you know your specific needs, you can start researching available options for autonomous AI agents, their cost, and capabilities. Then, you can compare different options and explore their possible uses for your organization. Finally, you can match specific capabilities, such as natural language processing, machine learning, etc.) to your requirements.

Step#3: Integration and scalability

When you have selected your agent, you also need to consider whether it can be easily integrated into your existing systems or developer tools. You should also think about the future and company growth. Make sure to find an agent that can be scalable with users’ increasing demands.

Step#4: Compliance and limitations

When choosing an AI agent, you need to be aware of its technical limitations, such as its inability to handle issues that require an understanding of the real world. Sometimes it may also be difficult to understand a decision-making process handled by the agent. Moreover, you need to make sure the agent works within legal and ethical frameworks at all times, especially in terms of biases in AI.

It’s essential to carefully choose the autonomous AI agent for your organization to ensure your company can make the most of it.

Potential risks of autonomous AI agents

As with every technology, AI agents can come with many benefits but also significant risks. The key concerns include:

• Security risks: The agents can be targeted by hackers who want to exploit the technology or steal sensitive information. Without proper security, AI agents can expose confidential data.
• Lack of human oversight: Agents can make independent decisions that may have unforeseen negative consequences. If they are trained on biased data, the decision-making process can be unfair or unethical.
• Legal concerns: Many governments plan to establish laws to govern the use of AI, for example, to address the cases of accountability for mistakes made by the technology.
• Decision transparency: The process of making decisions is often hard to understand to clearly state how the conclusion was reached. With the lack of clear reasoning, people may have issues with trusting the outputs.

Neontri’s agent of choice: Professor Synapse

Neontri, as a fintech and banking software development company, has very specific needs and uses AI’s capabilities to facilitate work. That’s why we implemented Professor Synapse to help us achieve our goals. Professor Synapse was created by Synaptic Labs and can be integrated into ChatGPT+. Professor Synapse works as a conductor of expert agents and can be adjusted to user needs. It learns a domain and knows contexts.

As an expert, it’s capable of understanding the task and dividing it into steps that are verified by the user. Once it learns the task, it gathers context, relevant information and asks for a specific goal.

Overall, the use of Professor Synapse reminds a conversation with a specialist who asks additional questions that are helpful to complete the task.

To present how it works, we asked Professor Synapse to help us write a social media post about this article:

Here, Professor Synapse acts as an expert in content creation and social media. It understands its role and gives us an idea of how it processes the information to achieve the goal. Let’s look at the process it completed to achieve our objective:

These are just a few steps in the process, but what’s important is that the last one involves asking for feedback to provide the best possible result. The process goes in a loop until the user is satisfied with the desired outcome.

Main challenges in developing autonomous AI agents

The technology behind autonomous agents powered by AI is complex. To develop an agent, it is necessary to know the technical, ethical, and operational requirements. This is a complex process that can involve challenges, such as:

• Data quality and availability: The development of AI agents requires vast amounts of diverse data to function properly. The available external databases may contain biased information that may impact their reliability.
• Computational and resource constraints: Training and running autonomous agents require significant computing resources, which are a considerable cost.
• Decision-making and adaptability: It’s hard to train agents to fully understand and adapt to changing environments. When the information is incomplete or ambiguous, the agent may struggle to make decisions.
• Development complexity: Building an AI technology base for an agent requires investment in research and development, infrastructure and specialists with expertise. These tools need constant updates, retraining and monitoring to keep efficient results.

The future of autonomous AI agents

Looking at the speed of AI development, we may expect autonomous agents to gain popularity and be implemented into everyday life. Now, they are tools used mostly by technically advanced users and companies. However, according to this publication, autonomous agents will go mainstream within three to five years.

Such agents can streamline customer service or perform simple tasks, like ordering a pizza, so the potential of their rising popularity in common use is more than likely. Even now, self-driving cars using autonomous AI agents capable of making decisions are already present and may gain popularity in the future.

As autonomous AI agents may give us a promise of further innovation in the world of tech, we still need to wait to see how they will develop. They may bring revolution in business operations, decision-making processes, and work efficiency. The continuous advancement is definitely worth observing because, at some point, we will be able to integrate autonomous agents into our lives and work.

Embrace the power of GenAI with Neontri

Neontri’s team of experts can help you grow your business using GenAI technology. This technology is designed to help organizations increase productivity and make informed decisions based on data. Neontri’s certified developers have over a decade of experience in implementing innovative technology solutions for the financial industry. We delivered dedicated AI solutions to leading banks that boosted customer growth, streamlined operations, and automated complex workflows. 

With our expertise, you can strategically implement GenAI in the areas that need it most. Improve operational efficiency, reduce costs and integrate advanced data-analysis tools into your business. Contact our experts today to learn how we can help you achieve goals.

FAQ

How do autonomous AI agents adapt to changing environments?

One of the main features of AI agents is their adaptability to changing environments. They can adjust their decisions by reinforcement learning, using memory, and analyzing past outputs. With human feedback and constant learning, they can adapt quickly in many industries, such as finance and logistics.

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