Recently came across a 1984 quote about "agents" by Steve Jobs featured on @simon's blog: https://simonwillison.net/2025/Sep/18/steve-jobs/
I, for one, don't want an imitation of a "little person" inside my computer, anticipating what I want, or steering me toward what its developers want me to want. I'm fine with a "responder" as Jobs called it, that keeps me in control.
Maybe that reaction is just a sign of how pessimistic the current zeitgeist has become. Or maybe that Jobs quote was always hopelessly naive.