Agentic AI and AI Agents: A Primer on a Gentle (R)evolution in Economy and Society

What happens when intelligence is decoupled from human consciousness?This book explores the fundamental shift brought about by generative AI and autonomous multi-agent systems: a silent but radical transformation of economy, society, and human self-understanding.Building on the previous German volume Künstliche Intelligenz - Transformation und Krisen von Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, this expanded and updated English edition introduces a new core: the rise of agentic AI and the emerging ecosystems of intelligent, goal-directed AI agents. These agents no longer simply assist - they collaborate, negotiate, delegate, and learn autonomously, creating new forms of interaction between human actors and artificial intelligences.Inspired by the breakthrough success of intelligent learning machines enabled by a line of thinking and experiments proving its validity, starting with Ludwig Wittgenstein, Alan Turing, John Hopfield, Terrence Sejnowski and Geoffrey Hinton, the book offers a multidisciplinary analysis of:- The evolution of artificial agency beyond Large Language Models- Socioeconomic implications of autonomous agents in business, education, and governance- The epistemological and psychological challenges of living with intelligent systems