What are AI agents? Databricks' acquisition of Neon explains the future of AI development
Hello, I'm John! Recently, we've been hearing a lot about "AI agents" in the world of AI. But I'm sure there are many people who don't know what they mean at all.
This time, we will be explaining this "AI agent" for absolute beginners, using the news that a company called Databricks has acquired a company called Neon as a topic!
What is an AI agent? Like a smart assistant?
To understand AI agents, let's start by thinking about the word "agent." An agent is someone who does things for us, like a real estate agent or a travel agent, right?
AI agents are similar in that they are programs that perform tasks autonomously, just like humans do. For example,
- If you say, "Summarize today's news," the AI agent will gather information and summarize it for you.
- If you ask the AI agent to "plan a trip," it will book hotels and flights for you.
...In this way, it's like an excellent assistant, doing a lot of things for you!
What an AI agent needs: a fast database
In order for an AI agent to perform various tasks, it needs to process a lot of information quickly. For example, in the previous example of planning a trip,
- Hotel Availability
- Ticket prices
- Tourist information
...and other such information must be checked in near real time. That's where databases become important. A database is a place where information is organized and stored. It's like a library, for example. But we don't need an ordinary library; we need a super-high-performance library where you can instantly find the book you're looking for!
Databricks and Neon Team Up to Accelerate AI Agent Development
Neon, which was recently acquired by Databricks, is a company that excels at creating "ultra-high performance libraries." With Neon's technology, you can create a database almost instantly when you need it!
Databricks is a company that provides various tools necessary for AI development. By adding Neon's high-speed database technology to the company, it is expected that developing AI agents will become much easier than ever before.
Databricks has previously acquired MosaicML, a large-scale language model (LLM, the brain of AI) learning platform, and Tabular, a data storage company. These acquisitions are also strategic moves to accelerate AI development.
What changes with this acquisition?
This acquisition doesn't mean that ordinary people like us will see any immediate benefits... But it will accelerate the development of AI agents, and in the future, we may see more convenient and intelligent AI assistants supporting our lives.
For example,
- An AI teacher who can suggest more personalized study plans
- An AI doctor who constantly monitors our health and gives us the best advice
- An AI concierge that understands our preferences and provides the best entertainment
...and so on and so forth, the possibilities are endless!
Summary: Looking forward to the future of AI agents!
This time, we explained about AI agents in response to the news of Databricks' acquisition of Neon. AI agents are still a developing technology, but their potential is endless. We can't take our eyes off the future evolution of AI agents!
After seeing this news, I was once again amazed at the speed at which AI technology is evolving. I will continue to do my best to provide everyone with the latest information on AI in an easy-to-understand way!
This article is based on the following original articles and is summarized from the author's perspective:
Databricks to acquire open-source database startup Neon to
build the next wave of AI agents