Agents and tool use

AI Agents A model plus a loop plus tools plus state, and the model is the smallest part.

Loops & Graphs A loop decides at runtime – model in charge, maximum flexibility, unbounded variance.

Tools & MCP Function calling with schemas, and MCP emerging as the standard for exposing tools across vendors – write once, plug into any model.

Memory Three different problems wearing one name: working context (this session), episodic notes (what happened before), durable facts (what stays true).

Stress testing event-driven agents to find failures that are rare but costly

the longer list looked better because guessing got easier

the retry was safe and the side effect was not

the attackers went straight for the rows the benchmark left blank

the guardrail passed because nobody tried the door

the skill that won the argument wasn't the one you installed

the answer was correct and the procedure never ran

the limits were in the file the agent was allowed to edit

the backslash went missing somewhere between the model and the shell

the rehearsal went well because nobody else was in it

the vaguer the question, the more it helped itself

we kept pruning the memories that never got a turn

the pass rate went up and so did everything else