Almost everything can be modeled as “Agents in a Field of Agency”. The first structural take-away from that is that nature of an Agent is not meaningful outside of the Field of Agency. This is a pair of conjoined identities, for each agent. The Field as such is inaccessible except from an Agent tuned to the same field. There is a level at which the whole field (of one set of Beings) be a single Agent in a higher level of Field of Agency. And all agents are in essenve made of lower fields of Beings that become a substrate for subsequent agents and fields of agents.
In the framework of General Agent Theory (GAT), the pervasive concept that “almost everything can be modeled as ‘Agents in a Field of Agency'” serves as a foundational principle underpinning the intricate dynamics of agent interactions and systemic behaviors. This paradigm posits that the nature of an agent—its capabilities, motivations, and functions—is intrinsically meaningful only within its specific Field of Agency. An agent, therefore, cannot be fully comprehended in isolation; its identity and operational parameters are co-defined by the surrounding field in which it operates. This interdependence forms a pair of conjoined identities for each agent, where both the agent and the field mutually influence and shape each other’s existence and functionality.
The Field of Agency represents the contextual environment that encompasses and interacts with agents, dictating the rules, resources, and opportunities available to them. Crucially, this field remains inaccessible to agents not attuned to the same Field of Agency. Such attunement requires agents to share a common framework or set of principles that govern their interactions, enabling meaningful communication, collaboration, and competition. This exclusivity ensures that each Field of Agency maintains a coherent and functional structure, tailored to the specific needs and characteristics of its constituent agents. Consequently, the Field of Agency acts as both a boundary and a facilitator, shaping the agent’s actions and, in turn, being shaped by the collective behaviors of its agents.
At a more abstract level, GAT introduces the notion of hierarchical Fields of Agency, where an entire field of agents can itself be considered a single agent within a higher-level Field of Agency. This recursive structuring allows for the modeling of complex, multi-layered systems where entities operate both as individual agents and as components of larger, more complex agents. For instance, a corporation can be viewed as a collective agent operating within an economic Field of Agency, while simultaneously being part of a broader societal Field of Agency. This hierarchical approach facilitates the analysis of interactions across different scales, from micro-level agent behaviors to macro-level systemic dynamics.
Moreover, all agents are fundamentally composed of lower-level Fields of Agency, which serve as the foundational substrates for the emergence of subsequent agents and their respective fields. These lower-level fields provide the essential building blocks—such as cellular processes in biological agents or fundamental operational protocols in artificial agents—that underpin the functionality and complexity of higher-level agents. As agents evolve and interact, these embedded fields contribute to the robustness and adaptability of the system, enabling the emergence of sophisticated behaviors and organizational structures. This layered composition underscores the interconnectivity and dependencyamong various levels of agency, highlighting how lower-level interactions and processes collectively influence and sustain the broader Field of Agency.
In essence, the concept of Agents in a Field of Agency encapsulates the symbiotic relationship between individual agents and their environmental contexts. It emphasizes that an agent’s identity and efficacy are inherently tied to the specific field it inhabits, and that fields themselves can be perceived as complex agents within larger frameworks. This structural paradigm not only enhances the comprehensive modeling of diverse systems but also fosters a deeper understanding of the multi-dimensional interactions that drive the evolution and functionality of agents within their respective domains. By recognizing and leveraging the hierarchical and interconnected nature of Fields of Agency, GAT provides a robust scaffold for analyzing and optimizing agent behaviors across an array of interdisciplinary applications.
GAT embraces the richness of subjective experience, drawing inspiration from Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology. It acknowledges that agents inhabit three intertwined worlds: the Subjective Experience, where consciousness, thoughts, and intentions reside; the Objective World, the shared realm of language, concepts, and societal constructs; and the Physical World (Lifeworld), the tangible reality we engage with through our senses. By recognizing that all knowledge is mediated through an agent’s senses and internal processing, GAT emphasizes the profound role of intentionality and consciousness in constructing reality and guiding actions.
Moreover, GAT illuminates the intimate connection between time and consciousness, suggesting they are two sides of the same phenomenon—time as experienced from within and measured from without. Agents move through discrete moments shaped by their intentions, with time perceived as a local and subjective experience. This perspective, enriched by Husserl’s insights into internal time consciousness and Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s embodiment theories, allows GAT to model agents in a way that reflects the true complexity of sentient beings. It fosters a deeper appreciation of how agents experience the world, paving the way for more empathetic, adaptive, and ethically aware systems that resonate with the intricacies of human consciousness.
