Agentic AI UW brings next step in artificial intelligence to UW-Madison

Amidst the clanking and clanging of the new Phillip A. Levy Engineering Center construction, a new engineering idea is emerging at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

Evan Liu, a rising junior majoring in electrical engineering, presented his ambitions for his Agentic AI UW club on August 20 at the Forward Fest — a multi-day conference held in Madison centered around technology and entrepreneurship — to a crowd filled with entrepreneurs, startup owners and developers. 

Agentic AI, semi- or fully autonomous AI systems that can complete tasks with little human oversight, are poised to be the “next generation of generative AI,” according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

Agentic AI builds on top of Large Language Models (LLMs) with AI “agents” harnessing digital tools and software to complete lengthier tasks on a self-directed basis, not just respond when prompted by a human.

The club’s first major project includes a network of AI agents called “Hivemind.” The project plans to connect individuals with a personal network of AI agents on a centralized server. Each agent will understand important contextual information as well as users’ preferences. 

Part of the project includes creating a wearable pendant — like having a version of Amazon’s Alexa with you at all times — that would connect users through voice and cellular data to their email or work platforms.