An Actor's Perspective

[senseihaiku]

Hello guys! My first Github comment ever!

I'm not sure if these thoughts will add any value, but you never know what might spark new ideas. So, even though I’m just an AI enthusiast, I thought I would share some perspectives that might seem a bit out of the ordinary in this field, particularly regarding challenges with communication between agents. These could offer a fresh perspective or unique angle. (I'm not completely up to date with all the discussions or issues, but I’ve been watching all the latest videos.)

As a professional actor with experience in stage, film, improvisational theater, and a bit of directing, I've been exploring AI as a hobbyist for the past year. My journey in technology, although not rooted in deep programming knowledge, is driven by a keen interest in natural language, communication, and character building. 
Lately, I've been reading more about emotional prompting research and understand that it enhances outputs. I've also been thinking about the relationship between agents and actors - agents act. That's what they're doing.

Perhaps agents can be inspired by acting techniques?
Here are some acting techniques I've studied for example:

The Stanislavski Method: This method deeply explores a character's motivations and circumstances through introspective questions like "Who am I?", "Where am I?", "What do I want?", and "How will I get what I want?". It's not just about realism and emotional authenticity, but also about actors immersing themselves in their characters' situations with the "magic if" concept, encouraging a thorough internalization of the character's life and psychology. Applied to AI agents, especially in a HAAS swarm, this approach could significantly enhance their understanding and adaptation to their roles within the swarm's hierarchy. It might lead to more nuanced agent interactions, with each agent considering its own 'character' and 'motivations' in the broader narrative of the swarm's objectives.

Meisner Technique: Developed by Sanford Meisner, this focuses on instinctive reactions to the environment and other actors. It's about being fully present and truthful in fictional scenarios, using repetition exercises to foster spontaneity and genuine reactions. This technique could be transformative for AI agents in a swarm, promoting a system where agents react more spontaneously to each other and their environment, much like improvisational actors. This could enhance the fluidity and authenticity of communication within the swarm, aligning with HAAS's focus on dynamic and responsive agent interactions.

Practical Aesthetics: Formulated by David Mamet and William H. Macy, this method champions simplicity and control, grounded in Stoic principles. It includes a four-step script analysis focusing on literal happenings, character desires, essential actions, and personalizing actions through 'As If' scenarios. This action-oriented, minimalistic approach might be a game changer in AI agent programming. By prioritizing essential actions and responses, and reducing complexity in decision-making, this method could streamline communication and operational efficiency in multi-agent systems, resonating with HAAS's interest in creating streamlined, effective agent swarms.


Thinking about the HAAS swarm's structure and the challenges in agent communication, I see potential parallels with acting techniques. For instance, could the Stanislavski Method's introspection aid agents in better navigating a hierarchical structure? In a swarm, each agent could 'ask' itself questions akin to an actor preparing for a role, improving its decision-making and role within the larger group.

Similarly, the Meisner Technique's emphasis on spontaneous reaction might offer insights into enhancing real-time communication between agents in a swarm. It's about adapting to the 'scene' dynamically, much like agents responding to fluctuating scenarios within the swarm.

These are just some initial thoughts on how acting principles might offer a fresh lens for looking at agent behavior and interaction within the HAAS framework, particularly focusing on the swarm's hierarchy and communication dynamics. Just some food for thought 😊

[TylerAlmeida]

This would be a pretty great framework for the agent creation process. The agent that creates new agents should be some form of HR persona, using one of the Methods you've mentioned as a framework when generating any new agent persona.
Shameless plug: Included in this should also by my concept of OKR, where the "Where am I, and What do I want" should include their given goals, objectives, and results necessary to meet their boss' key deliverables. Effectively creating the ideal candidate who is 100% aligned to the vision and a clear alignment to top-level goals through their individual directives.

[JennyHorner]

I'm just a hobbyist too but I think these acting ideas have merit because there's a sense in which the AI knows it's acting a role. We tend to use phrases like 'never break character' for personas. Also I find my AI characters do better thinking through a series of questions compared to if I tell them something straight. The acting methods using questions seem interesting.

[AlexG925]

I love the Stanislavsky approach idea of breaking down the sub-agent formulation into concrete questions that build on each other, but the rest all inspire me, too.

Rather than an HR persona, I think the agent generator agent would be best described as a director / role coach, thinking through the desired agent's role and motivations in a structured way -- and I think the concept is genius and has helped me think through my approach.

Thank you!

[OWigginsHay]

I like this idea a lot. It makes me want to build something like this into the agent creation process... more specifically, make agent creation a shared API function, and let the tool_creator unit create agents using that API call.

[senseihaiku]

Happy to spark some inspiration! I made another comment as well. And I'm actually on medical leave from work so I have a lot of free time. If there is anything regarding this I could help with or you want further insights to, just dm me!

[senseihaiku]

Wow I Love that this thread is alive again. Thanks for all the comments! I haven't had time to follow the HAAS progress that much, but my mind haven't slept on this idea.

As @AlexG925 touched on about the director, maybe the simulation of a director that has some form of character building knowledge (from play/sript writing) could be nice to have in some way that could explore how sub-agents could be 'directed' to ask themselves introspective questions, aligning their actions with the swarm's objectives and adapting to dynamic scenarios, much like actors adapt their performances under a director's guidance.

This approach could lead to more nuanced and context-aware agent behaviors. A director guides actors, helping them find the truth in their characters. The director asks probing questions, encourages deep understanding of the role, and ensures that each action aligns with the character's objectives. This is similar to how we could envision the role of a 'Director' in HAAS – not just as a controller, but as a facilitator of deeper, more authentic agent behaviors.
For sub-agents, this would translate into a more nuanced understanding of their roles and objectives within the swarm.

Reflecting on my post I've been thinking more about Stanislavskij. I think his method is a good start to read for beginners who want to know some basic acting techniques. Just ask GPT-4 about Stanislavskij and his methods, and then hopefully it might inspire you!

EDIT: uploaded two .pdf's with outputs from a ChatGPT conversation. nr 1. About Stanislavskij for actors. nr 2. is if the rules would apply to HAAS agents instead

1. For ACTORS.pdf
2. For AGENTS.pdf

[RickAshby]

This is an excellent idea. The value of including emotional prompting has already been validated by the "take a deep breath" prompt. The acting techniques are another great tool for defining and refining the context and range of options that are most readily available to agents. In a similar vein, I've played with assigning MBTI profiles to agents and at an even more basic level, assigning genders to them. I think one application of a swarm could be to assign the same task to a group of agents with different profiles-- not very token friendly, but could be valuable for ingenuity.