Levels of AI Agents: from Rules to Large Language Models

Abstract: AI agents are defined as artificial entities to perceive the environment, make decisions and take actions. Inspired by the 6 levels of autonomous driving by Society of Automotive Engineers, the AI agents are also categorized based on utilities and strongness, as the following levels: L0, no AI, with tools taking into account perception plus actions; L1, using rule-based AI; L2, making rule-based AI replaced by IL/RL-based AI, with additional reasoning & decision making; L3, applying LLM-based AI instead of IL/RL-based AI, additionally setting up memory & reflection; L4, based on L3, facilitating autonomous learning & generalization; L5, based on L4, appending personality of emotion and character and collaborative behavior with multi-agents.