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In this second episode of season six of the Armchair Architects series on the Azure Essentials Show, Uli, Eric, and David dive deep into the anatomy of AI agents, breaking down their essential components and exploring the practical challenges of building and operating them.
The discussion covers foundational elements like language models, knowledge bases, orchestration frameworks, and the critical role of memory, while also addressing governance, environmental awareness, and best practices for keeping agents up-to-date and secure.
Together, the three architects offer a comprehensive look at what it takes to design robust, responsive, and well-governed AI agents for enterprise environments.
Key Takeaways
– Understand the core components of an AI agent: language model, knowledge, orchestration, and tools.
– Learn about different types of memory (short-term, medium-term, long-term) and their impact on agent behavior.
– Discover best practices for refreshing agent knowledge and managing environmental awareness.
– Explore governance strategies and the importance of separating agent autonomy from oversight.
– Gain insights into practical frameworks and protocols like RAG, MCP, and orchestration tools (LangChain, Semantic Kernel, Autogen).
Recommended Resources & Next Steps
– Read Microsoft’s documentation on AI agent architectures and governance.
https://learn.microsoft.com/search/?terms=AI%20Agent%20architecture
– Explore articles on Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) and vector databases for knowledge management.
https://learn.microsoft.com/search/?terms=Retrieval%20Augmented%20Generation
– Review best practices for data privacy and memory management in AI systems.
https://learn.microsoft.com/purview/dspm-for-ai?tabs=m365
Related Episodes
– Watch more episodes of Armchair Architects https://aka.ms/ArmchairArchitects
– Watch more episodes of the Azure Essentials Show https://aka.ms/AzureEssentialsShow
Connect
– David Blank-Edelman https://www.linkedin.com/in/dnblankedelman/
– Uli Homann https://www.linkedin.com/in/ulrichhomann/
– Eric Charran https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericcharran/
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
1:08 Agent anatomy
8:22 Deeper dive on Memory
10:15 Handling sensitive data
13:52 Staying up-to-date
19:45 Queuing up the next episode Read More Microsoft Developer
