Agent

An agent is an autonomous entity with an ontological commitment and agenda of its own.

The term originated in philosophy.

Each agent possesses the ability to act autonomously; this is an important distinction because a simple act of obedience to a command does not qualify an entity as an agent.

An agent may interact or negotiate with its environment and/or with other agents. It may make decisions, such as whether to trust and whether to cooperate with others.

In microeconomics, an agent is a person who makes a decision on matters affecting the interests of a principal. Principal-agent theory describes appropriate contracts between the two that result in the best interests of the principal being carried through and is an important element of information economics, the theory of labour markets and in executive remuneration.

Types of Agents

Agent, Law - In law an agent is a person authorized to act for another person or organization, with delegated authority, such as a person holding a power of attorney under the law of agency also known as an "attorney-in-fact" in contrast to an "attorney at law". Examples:
- real estate agent
- secret agent
software agent.
In publishing, an agent acts for an author to sell their manuscript. Publishers often pay greater attention to manuscripts submitted by an agent than directly (via the slush pile).
In music, movies, theatre, showbiz and sport, agents arrange contracts, appearances and media relations for professionals..
In elections in the UK, an election agent is responsible for the conduct of a candidate's campaign.
Brokers - For some Agent-based computer systems, 'Object Request Brokers' or ORBs complement and speed up the response time of the system, by brokering the requests of the system.

The term agent is also used for sentient programs found in the Matrix that battle the humans fighting for freedom.