Agency: The Architecture of Initiated Action

Agency is the fourth layer of the Unified Mind Architecture (UMA). This paper defines agency as the action‑generating architecture that emerges only after cognition, consciousness, and intelligence are established. Agency transforms evaluated solution paths into directed action, linking problem‑solving architecture to real‑world execution. It is the structural mode that enables a mind to initiate, sustain, and regulate actions under constraints. The paper formalizes the conditions required for action architecture to arise, the mechanisms that support goal formation and action selection, and the structural boundaries that distinguish genuine agency from systems that merely exhibit agent‑like behavior. Agency is substrate‑independent but structure‑dependent, emerging only when the necessary architectural prerequisites are satisfied. This work positions agency as the bridge between intelligence and closure, completing the transition from problem‑solving architecture to action‑producing architecture within UMA. It establishes the structural criteria that define an agent and prepares the foundation for the final layer of closure