Agent Safety is a [bounded] Box (brooker.co.za)

A new concept called "the box" has been proposed to enhance the safety and control of AI agents in various domains, from coding to customer service. This box acts as a deterministic layer that restricts the tools an agent can access and the actions it can undertake, thereby mitigating risks associated with their flexible and adaptive nature. By implementing a controlled environment—such as the AgentCore Runtime for cloud-based agents—the proposal emphasizes that traditional safety methods, which operate within the agent, may not provide sufficient guarantees of safety due to the inherent complexity and unpredictability of agent behavior. This box not only constrains what agents can do but also facilitates an effective policy enforcement mechanism via tools like AgentCore Gateway. This ensures that policies governing agent actions are watertight and not susceptible to manipulation or unintended side effects. With a focus on fine-grained policy control through an accessible natural language interface, the proposal aims to simplify the process of aligning AI agent capabilities with user intentions. This innovative approach could lead to more reliable and secure AI operations across various application areas, ultimately driving the future of AI/ML development.