Agentic AI needs a science of interaction

Artificial intelligence is moving from stand-alone models towards systems of interacting agents. These systems do not merely classify, predict or generate: they plan, exchange messages, call tools, divide labour, adapt and coordinate action across tasks and time. This shift has made agentic AI one of the dominant frames for the next phase of the field. Understanding how these agents interact will therefore be as important as improving what each agent can do alone. Here, the authors argue that agentic AI requires a shift from evaluating individual agents alone to analyzing interaction architectures, proposing a framework that links agent interactions, collective configurations and time-dependent outcomes.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2026-11-06
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-78879-x
Primary Topic
Multi-Agent Systems and Negotiation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
article

Agentic AI needs a science of interaction

Manlio De Domenico
2 links
Nature Communications
Multi-Agent Systems and Negotiation
article

Agentic AI needs a science of interaction

Manlio De Domenico
article en

Abstract

Artificial intelligence is moving from stand-alone models towards systems of interacting agents. These systems do not merely classify, predict or generate: they plan, exchange messages, call tools, divide labour, adapt and coordinate action across tasks and time. This shift has made agentic AI one of the dominant frames for the next phase of the field. Understanding how these agents interact will therefore be as important as improving what each agent can do alone. Here, the authors argue that agentic AI requires a shift from evaluating individual agents alone to analyzing interaction architectures, proposing a framework that links agent interactions, collective configurations and time-dependent outcomes.

Nature Communications
University of Padua (IT)
Human Frontier Science Program, Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca
Openalex Percentile: Top 19%
Multi-Agent Systems and Negotiation
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.

Laika access coming soon