Don Morron, Founder & CEO, HighlandTech, discusses how humans and AI Agents will work together for a more efficient future.
History has shown us that humans are adaptable. With each industrial revolution, we’re reminded of our ability to adjust and thrive. Yet, the current wave of change feels distinctly different.
AI is poised to reshape humanity profoundly, but rather than thinking of this as “us versus them”, it’s more useful to consider it “us and them”.
Generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, have already demonstrated their capability to boost human productivity and creativity.
But what comes next? At NVIDIA’s recent GTC conference, the CEO outlined the progression of AI development.
It began with Generative AI, the foundation behind familiar chatbot interfaces that operate in a straightforward, conversational manner. Now, we’re entering the era of “Agentic AI”.
These AIs still rely on generative capabilities under the hood, but they go much further by thinking, reasoning, planning and acting either on command or autonomously on behalf of humans.
We’ll simply call these advanced AI entities “Agents.”
Beyond Agents lies Physical AI, encompassing technologies such as humanoid robotics – an exciting, futuristic development we’ll leave for another discussion.
For now, let’s focus on Agents, the stage we’re currently navigating.
According to credible industry analyses from PwC and McKinsey, the economic impact of AI Agents is immense, with annual contributions to global GDP potentially reaching up to $4.4 trillion by 2030.
This means Agents will profoundly transform the digital landscape. We’ll see entirely new types of internet browsers, advanced layers of technology to enable these Agents and massive growth in data centers to support their operations and expansion.
Every industry will feel this impact, altering software interactions and job roles dramatically. Yet, within each disruption lies significant opportunity.
This brings us to the concept of Human-Agent Orchestration. Instead of Agents simply operating autonomously, humans will collaborate closely with them, providing instructions (tasking) and gathering information (retrieving).
Tasking involves directing an Agent to perform specific actions, while retrieving information is asking your Agent to find and deliver data.
With these interactions, humans effectively become orchestrators, directing Agents to manage tasks previously burdened by manual efforts.
No more tedious file searches, document creation or endless clicking through software interfaces. Instead, imagine a streamlined, conversational interface that commands Agents to handle all these tasks effortlessly.
Microsoft has articulated a helpful hierarchy for understanding Agent interactions and decision-making processes, structured similarly to a traditional organizational chart.
At the lowest level are Utility Agents or specialists focused on performing single tasks efficiently and accurately, thus avoiding confusion and maximizing performance.
Next are Super-Agents, each typically overseeing several Utility Agents within a particular domain or area of expertise.
These Super-Agents utilize predefined templates or “Agent Cards” to clearly outline the scope of their responsibilities, the problems they solve and the workflows they manage.
At the top of this structure is the Orchestrator Agent, responsible for supervising and coordinating all Super-Agents.
This Orchestrator maintains comprehensive knowledge of each Super-Agent’s capabilities, ensuring tasks are assigned correctly and efficiently to achieve larger organizational goals.
This hierarchical structure empowers humans to direct their digital workforce as easily as managing human teams, with each employee effectively controlling their personal digital team within the broader human organization.
Imagine a future where 20%, 30% or even 40% of repetitive, mundane tasks are automated through this Agent hierarchy, accessible by any authorized employee.
Such Human-Agent Orchestration promises to ignite unprecedented levels of productivity, reshaping the business landscape right before our eyes.
The era of building a global digital workforce isn’t somewhere in the distant future, it’s happening right now.
But what does this specifically mean for the physical security industry? Any company aiming to remain competitive over the next five years must embrace this transformation.
Five years might seem distant, but exponential technological growth indicates a rapid and profound shift is imminent. Leading AI research organizations like OpenAI anticipate that AI systems could reach human-level intelligence or beyond within the next decade.
Once AI starts effectively creating and refining new AI technologies independently – a concept known as recursive self-improvement – the speed of technological advancement will accelerate exponentially.
Businesses that adopt Agents early will be well-positioned to benefit from this intelligence explosion, vastly outpacing competitors who remain hesitant or resistant to AI integration.
The stakes are clear: companies failing to adopt these AI innovations risk becoming obsolete, as competitors leverage Agents to operate faster and at significantly lower costs.
Non-AI-first businesses might initially rely on established relationships for survival, but as customers increasingly prefer quicker, simpler, more cost-effective and higher-performing services, even the strongest relationships may not sustain businesses indefinitely.
The essential takeaway is this: physical security companies must begin building their Agent workforces now, ensuring they are not left behind as this transformative era unfolds.
This article was originally published in the June edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.