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The Agentic Loop: Three loops in a trench coat

46 points by btables - 9 comments
tptacek [3 hidden]5 mins ago
You can always find more loops if you want to write the next version of this post. Anything that runs software is a loop of instruction execution.
swyx [3 hidden]5 mins ago
jamestimmins [3 hidden]5 mins ago
The issue I have with loops is that for truly complex work, where I care about building a generalized solution for a complex problem, the agents frequently reward hack and end up burning indefinitely without finishing until I step in.

Curious how you're addressing this

btables [3 hidden]5 mins ago
Totally. Earth's rotation is a loop too. We should count that.
ratelimitsteve [3 hidden]5 mins ago
rotation and orbit, and technically the eccentricity in the axis as well
philipwhiuk [3 hidden]5 mins ago
Aren't the loops the wrong way round in the diagram. The tightest loop is the inference loop, then the tool loop and then human loop?
btables [3 hidden]5 mins ago
I think of them from the outside in, so that's why I illustrated it that way.
NitpickLawyer [3 hidden]5 mins ago
Fascinating. I think it's the first time I've heard it put that way.

For me it's more intuitive the other way around, as the "outer" loops increase in complexity (and can have additional separate loops running inside them). It also makes sense because you can always add more (meta) loops that way.

DonHopkins [3 hidden]5 mins ago
You are absolutely correct. It's an i18n/l10n issue. They spin in the opposite direction in the other hemisphere.