Kelleher: Autonomous decision-making sets AI agents apart from past tech shifts
Eric Kelleher · AI Agents: Hype or Hope · Oct 29, 2025 · at 3:30
Eric Kelleher, President and COO of Okta, discusses the core definition of AI agents compared to prior software automation waves with Alex Kantrowitz.
0:00 / 0:35exact quote · 35.9s
▶ Watch the full episode on YouTube → 720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“I think the way that we think about agents that I think about agents is autonomous software that's capable of taking actions on a user's behalf, not synchronously, but asynchronously, and that's capable of applying its own judgment on which actions to execute and how to execute them. So that autonomy is one of the key differences for this conversation relative to conversations we've had about technical, technical solutions and software and API to API communications. The autonomous decision-making capabilities of artificial intelligence are really what sets this particular wave apart from the prior technology shifts we've seen.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Eric Kelleher
Kelleher: MIT study found 95% of AI initiatives lack tangible ROI
“We have, there was a very famous study came out of MIT a couple months ago that said, 95% of AI initiatives have yet to demonstrate a tangible ROI.”
Kelleher: 90% of Surveyed Okta Clients Deploy Agents, 10% Secure Them
“So our customers that we spoke with told us over 90% of them today have agents that are deployed in production. Yet only 10% of them believe that the agents in production are currently being appropriately managed and secured.”
Kelleher: AI Feels Bigger Than the Internet and Cloud Shifts
“It feels bigger than the introduction of the internet. It feels bigger than the shift to cloud. It is, we expect it to fundamentally transform how businesses operate and how humans operate.”
Kelleher: Autonomous action distinguishes AI agents from LLMs and brings security risks
“I think when we talk about the distinction between an artificial intelligence, the distinction between a large language model and an agent, I think the ability to take action is a very specific capability of an agent, and it's really the ability to take autono…”
Kelleher: Major Restaurant Chain's AI Concierge Was Breached, Leaking 60M Records
“Several weeks back, there was a very well publicized incident where one of the world's largest restaurant chains had deployed an agent to help job applicants on its recruiting website.
And this is a restaurant that interviews millions of peoples per year.
it …”