Articles filed in category 'AI Agents'

  • Understanding AI Agents and Agentic AI: Concepts, Tools, and Implementation with SmolAgents

    By: Wei-Meng Lee

    Last updated: Friday, December 26, 2025

    Published in: CODE Magazine: 2026 - Jan/Feb

    Wei-Meng Lee surveys the rise of agentic AI, shifting from passive prompt models to autonomous thinkers that reason, plan, and act using external tools. He introduces SmolAgents as a lightweight framework that lets LLMs orchestrate multi-step workflows, with two core types: CodeAgent for sandboxed Python code execution and ToolCallingAgent for API calls, web searches, and custom functions. Through practical examples and built-in vs. custom tools, Lee demonstrates how agents decompose complex tasks, combine data from various sources, and deliver cohesive, real-time insights, highlighting design choices for real-world applications.