Advanced · Research

Symbiotic Agency

Visual diagram · (in preparation) · Math · (in preparation) · Worked example · 3 difficulty levels.

TL;DR. A model of persistent AI assistants acting under a standing, revocable mandate from the user, with continuing coupling to the user's situation.

Technical Definition

A model of persistent AI assistants acting under a standing, revocable mandate from the user, with continuing coupling to the user's situation.

How it works

From the 2026 paper 'When Intelligence Becomes Agency' (arXiv:2609.07741), symbiotic agency formalizes the relationship between a person and a persistent assistant. It distinguishes autonomous agency (the system decides for itself) from delegated agency, and defines symbiotic agency as delegation under a standing, revocable mandate: the assistant stays coupled to the principal's situation, infers their condition with calibration, personalizes within bounds, and — crucially — can have its authority withdrawn at any time. The framework links activation decisions to authorized perception, behavior selection, authority containment, and traceable restraint, giving builders a vocabulary for assistants that act on their own initiative without becoming unaccountable.

Related Concepts

• Proactive Agents — Agents that turn idle compute into useful work before the user asks — and must decide whether, when, and how deeply to act at all.
• Human-in-the-loop — System designs where humans review, correct, or guide AI outputs as part of the workflow.
• AI Governance — The framework of policies, regulations, and principles designed to guide the development and deployment of AI technologies.