# Agent

**Status:** provisional  
**See also:** H9, RQ8

## Working definition

An **Agent** is an artificial entity or component primarily derived from functional
purpose.

Defining question: **What should this entity be able to do?**

Quality criteria tend toward competence, reliability, autonomy, scope discipline,
adaptability, and outcomes.

## Notes for research

- An Agent may be merely a functional component of another artificial Being.
- An Agent may itself become a Being if it develops persistent identity, continuity,
  relationships, character, and recognition.
- Preliminary view: Agent is a provenance/construction descriptor, not a mutually
  exclusive ontological class.