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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 .

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

• Agent (law) - In law an agent is a person authorized to act for another person or organizationA legal entity or artificial person is a legal construct with legal rights or duties such as the legal capacity to enter into contracts and sue or be sued. It is an entity usually an organization such as a corporation or a government ultimately composed o, with delegated authority, such as a person holding a power of attorneyA power of attorney or letter of attorney in common law systems or mandate in civil law systems is an authorization to act on someone else's behalf in a legal or business matter. The person authorizing the other to act is the "principal" or "grantor (of t under the law of agencyAgency is an area of law dealing with a contractual or quasi-contractual relationship between at least two parties in which one, the principal authorizes the other, the agent to represent her or his legal interests and to perform legal acts that bind the also known as an "attorney-in-fact" in contrast to an " attorney at lawA lawyer or attorney at law is a person licensed by the state to advise clients in legal matters and represent them in courts of law and other legal agencies. Most countries today require professional law advisors in their judicial systems. Lawyers have m". Examples:
  • real estate agentIn the United States and parts of the Commonwealth (including Canada and Australia), a real estate agent is a person who advises and represents others in transactions involving real estate. Practicing this profession usually requires a license. In the Uni
  • secret agentSpy redirects here, for alternate use see Spy (disambiguation A secret agent (also known as spy or covert operative is a person involved in espionage. See also intelligence service, identity creation Real-life secret agents See espionage for a list of rea
  • In publishingPublishing is the activity of putting information in the public arena. Although this can mean something as simple as making an announcement in a pub or market square, for some centuries it has usually referred to the business of producing books, magazines, an agent acts for an author to sell their manuscriptA manuscript ( Latin manu scriptus written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. Manuscripts in history Before the invention of the printing press, all wri. Publishers often pay greater attention to manuscripts submitted by an agent than directly (via the slush pile).
  • In music, movies, theatre, show business 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.

• See also software agent.

• Brokers - For some agent-based computer systems, object request brokers (ORBs) complement and speed up the response time of the system, by brokering the requests of the system.