Why are Agents like Steam? (2025)

The idea for the original article, Why is Knowledge like Steam?, came to me while attending the 2002 McMaster World Congress on Intellectual Capital hosted by Dr. Nick Bontis and McMaster University.

Ten Reasons why Agents are like Steam

10. Like steam, agents will collect (and connect) somewhere.

9. Even though agents can collect anywhere at any time, this doesn’t imply they are easy to create, find, or use – so too with steam.

8. Small amounts of steam do not appear significant until it is collected together and put to work – so too it is with agents. Small numbers of agents do not appear significant until they connect, collect, and their energies combine.

7. There is no danger of there being too much steam. Excess steam can be vented or sold. Is this true with agents?

6. The greater the number of sources of steam you have around you, the more likely you are to have it when you need it. So too it is with agents – teams of agents working collectively, whenever you need them, across multiple parties, locations, organizations, and jurisdictions – simultaneously.

(Want to accomplish something that isn’t possible in one jurisdiction? Use an agent in a different jurisdiction.)

5. The commercial value of steam is highest when it is new and concentrated – so too with agents (initially).

4. Steam can be used to create more steam – so too it is with agents.

3. Steam can be condensed into a purer, distilled form – so too it is with teams of agents (agentillation).

2. There are many fuels and methods that can be used to create steam and put it to work – not all of which will be economic at a given point in time – so too it is with agents.

1. If you don’t create it, capture it, channel it, and put it to work, its value is marginalized. So too it is with agents.

Michael Herman, Decentralized Systems Architect, Web 7.0™. December 2025.