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The research investigates the feasibility of containment as a critical property for autonomous agents operating without human intervention.

June 15, 2026Open Access

Containing Agents That Act on Their Own

Key Points

The research investigates the feasibility of containment as a critical property for autonomous agents operating without human intervention.
Evaluated the engineering properties of containment including observability and interruptibility.
Implemented the Open Audit Record for documenting AI actions before execution.
Assessed post-quantum and offline-verifiable systems for improved security.
Demonstrated that effective containment significantly enhances the safety of autonomous agents.
Verified the feasibility of using the Open Audit Record for accountability and oversight.

Abstract

Autonomous agents that act, and trigger other agents, without a human in the loop are now a live deployment reality. The defence is containment as an engineering property, not alignment alone: complete observability, instant interruptibility, and a signed record an outsider can verify. That is exactly what the Open Audit Record provides.Originally published at https://mickai.co.uk/articles/containing-agents-that-act-on-their-own. Mickai is a Sovereign Intelligence Operating System; the Open Audit Record signs every artificial intelligence action before it executes, post-quantum and offline-verifiable. 101 filed UK patent applications, Mickai LTD (Companies House 17166618).

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