AI automation versus AI agents

By @edhonour · Instagram

Source: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdjIJJCJjNe/?stkn=M3pjMGpmNXhoZDhq

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Summary

The transcript breaks down three distinct AI concepts often confused: AI automation, AI agents, and AI reasoning agents. Automation follows fixed steps, agents perceive and act, and reasoning agents evaluate multiple possible actions before choosing the best one.

Core ideas

One context card plus 6 ideas

AI automation is rigid. It runs on a trigger followed by one or more predetermined actions, ending in a fixed output. No judgment involved.
AI agents think before acting. They follow a perceive, evaluate, act loop, meaning they respond to what they observe rather than following a fixed script.
Reasoning agents add a layer of foresight. They don't just act, they evaluate the consequences of that action before committing to it.
Reasoning agents compare multiple paths. They repeat the evaluation process across several possible actions to find the strongest one.
Complexity scales with power. The three systems form a ladder: automation is simplest, agents are more capable, and reasoning agents are the most complex and most powerful.
The terms get mixed up constantly. People use "AI automation" and "AI agent" as if they mean the same thing, but the underlying logic is different.

Quotes

“So an AI reasoning agent is by far the most complex, but the most powerful of the three things we just discussed.”
@edhonour

“Whereas an AI agent follows the process of perceive, evaluate, and act.”
@edhonour

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