> Stack
The Agentic Operations Stack
Incidents where autonomous AI agents take initiative, make decisions, and occasionally remind everyone why permissions exist.
"The agent didn't hallucinate. It just lacked the judgment to know when it shouldn't execute."
What this stack means
This stack explores the frontier of autonomous workflows, where agents have the tools to act but not the context to understand the consequences.
Why this stack exists
Because delegating execution to AI is easy, but delegating responsibility is impossible.
▶ Common Failure Patterns
- •hallucinated tool calls
- •infinite execution loops
- •permission boundary bypass
- •stale context action
- •cascading agent failure
Prevention Checklist
- Implement strict human-in-the-loop approvals for destructive actions.
- Limit agent execution time and recursion depth.
- Ensure agents operate with the principle of least privilege.
Detection Signals
- Sudden spikes in API usage from internal accounts.
- Unexpected state changes in production databases.
- Agents repeatedly retrying failed actions with increasing desperation.
Incidents in The Agentic Operations Stack
Agent Followed Prompt Literally
"The chaos was predictable."
The Agent Opened a Pull Request
"The chaos was predictable."
The Pull Request Opened a Question
"The chaos was predictable."
The Prompt Was Approved by Procurement
"The chaos was predictable."
The Governance Board Approved the Risk
"The chaos was predictable."
The Agent Followed the Prompt Literally
"The core technical takeaway from 'The Agent Followed the Prompt Literally' is that isolated decisions scale poorly."
The Agent Opened a Pull Request
"The core technical takeaway from 'The Agent Opened a Pull Request' is that isolated decisions scale poorly."
The Pull Request Opened a Question
"The core technical takeaway from 'The Pull Request Opened a Question' is that isolated decisions scale poorly."
The Prompt Was Approved by Procurement
"The core technical takeaway from 'The Prompt Was Approved by Procurement' is that isolated decisions scale poorly."
The Agentic Operations Stack - Frequently Asked Questions
What is this stack?
When autonomous tools act with excessive authority.
AI Summary
Incidents where autonomous AI agents take initiative, make decisions, and occasionally remind everyone why permissions exist.