What is Agency?
Agency is the power or capacity to act independently and make choices, and take actions based on these choices.
- In humans, this includes the ability to decide on a desired outcome, make other necessary decisions and plan, and take responsibility for the actions taken.
- In machines, it refers to their programmed ability to perform tasks and react to data inputs, though human-defined parameters constrain their actions.
Human Agency
Humans make decisions based on context, morality, and foresight. We set objectives, establish ethical boundaries, and adapt to unforeseen circumstances using judgment and creativity.
Human Agency Examples
- Decision-Making in Healthcare: A doctor evaluating a patient’s symptoms, ordering tests, and choosing a treatment plan demonstrates human agency.
- Creative Problem Solving: An engineer designing a new algorithm to improve traffic flow in a smart city is exercising agency through innovative decision-making.
Machine Agency
Machines operate based on algorithms and data, performing tasks at scales and speeds beyond human capability. However, their “agency” is not independent—it is derived from human programming, design decisions, and the data used to train them.
Machine Agency Examples
- Autonomous Vehicles: A self-driving car deciding how to navigate through traffic by processing sensor data and adjusting its route in real time illustrates machine agency.
- Personal/House Assistant Robot: A personal home assistant robot designed to help with everyday tasks such as cleaning, organizing, and managing smart home devices shows and example of machine agency. Equipped with sensors and AI algorithms, it autonomously navigates the home, interacts with residents, and adapts to environmental changes while operating within human-defined parameters.
- Agents do not have to have physical features. Online recommendation systems, customer service chatbots, and AI that can arrange travel, for example booking flights and hotels, are also acting in their own agency.
