New ITI Paper Unpacks Agentic AI and Offers Policy Recommendations
WASHINGTON – In a new policy guide, global tech trade association ITI unpacks the latest advancement of AI technology: agentic AI. Built on existing generative AI technology, agentic AI is an AI system with multi-step planning and reasoning capabilities that can operate autonomously within boundaries set by the user and can ultimately boost productivity, streamline work processes, and enhance security.
ITI’s Understanding Agentic AI explores how this new technology works and offers perspectives on areas that policymakers should consider to seize the opportunity the technology presents while also being mindful of the risks.
Agentic AI is already improving efficiency in public service delivery, triaging cybersecurity threat actor alerts, and strengthening manufacturing operations, while also enabling people to work smarter and faster helping them focus on other, more thought-intensive tasks. Understanding and supporting its transformative potential will be critical for fostering trust, which is essential to its successful adoption and the next era of global tech leadership.
“Agentic AI represents an evolution in how AI technology supports people, organizations, and business processes across the board,” said ITI Vice President of Policy Courtney Lang. “We’re still learning about the impacts of agentic AI, and that’s why dialogue between industry and government is so critical. ITI’s Understanding Agentic AI helps inform this crucial conversation by breaking down the technology and offering initial policy considerations to support the responsible development and adoption of agentic AI systems.”
Understanding Agentic AIoutlines policy considerations focused on fostering adoption and promoting trust. The paper emphasizes that policymakers should:
- Develop and advance a national AI strategy that outlines ways in which policymakers will support the adoption and integration of AI, including agentic AI;
- Consider how existing frameworks and best practices can apply to agentic AI governance;
- Support workforce readiness to enable adoption of agentic AI;
- Promote industry-backed, open standards, and protocols for agentic AI systems; and
- Facilitate multistakeholder collaboration on evaluating emerging risks.
Read the full Understanding Agentic AI paper here.