Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The paper clearly and succinctly provides an overview of a research program and will make a valuable contribution to the special issue.

The quality of English is excellent.

Author Response

I would like to thank the reviewer for encouraging his comments.

Best regards,

Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic

Reviewer 2 Report

This article discusses the concept of autonomous agents and their classifications, highlighting the instructive role biological agents play in shaping artificial agents. The author asserts that biological agents are living organisms possessing the ability to sense their environment, process information, and make decisions—a fundamental concept in biology that is crucial for understanding how life forms interact with and adapt to a variety of environmental challenges. Thus, biological agents serve as a significant source of inspiration for the development of artificial agents.

The author's categorization of autonomous agents enables a deeper comprehension of the different types of agents and their roles across various domains, thereby fostering a better understanding of the evolution and application of intelligent technologies. By examining diverse types of agents, the study paves the way for more innovative designs in future autonomous agent development.

In summary, the article presents a thought-provoking discourse that underscores the significance of researching autonomous agents, elucidating the insights they bring to bear on the design and implementation of these intelligent systems. So, I strongly suggest to accept this paper.

Author Response

I would like to thank the reviewer for his very encouraging comments and positive opinion.

Best regards,

Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic

Reviewer 3 Report

Reviewer

This paper provides a very nice discussion of the systematic approach to understanding the classification of autonomous agents, with the broader goal of abstracting their future domain-specific applications. Researchers and philosophers must clarify the conceptual basis and the taxonomical peculiarities of autonomous agents in the theoretical and practical realms. In the spirit of Professor Mark Burgin's contributions to the field, the authors have done an excellent job of making the classification of agents more accessible and valuable to scientists, philosophers, and the general audience. The work deserves to be published as it is, with minor corrections. The authors may or may not consider my minor suggestions to improve the quality of the paper.

Suggestion 1

Line 49-50, "Historical perspectives on biological agency and autonomy can be found in [22] [23] [24] [26] [27]." The more recent discussion of autonomy in the biological realm is also discussed in the article by Kesic (2024). Complexity and biocomplexity: Overview of some historical aspects and philosophical basis" Ecological Complexity and Raginsky, M. (2023). Biological Autonomy. Biological Theory, 1-6. You might consider expanding the list of references in this sentence.

Suggestion 3

Regarding biological autonomy and autonomous agents, perhaps you might consider adding the differences between constitutive and interactive dimensions of autonomy. See, for example, Raginsky, M. (2023). Biological Autonomy. Biological Theory, 1-6. and Moreno A., Mossio M (2015) Biological autonomy: a philosophical and theoretical inquiry. Springer, Cham

Suggestion 4

Line 326-329: perhaps you may add that the human-AI team also provides teammates (at least one human and one artificial agent) who are interdependent, share a common goal, and possess significant independence. See Hauptman et al. (2024). Adapt and overcome: Perceptions of adaptive autonomous agents for human-AI teaming. In contrast to these human-AI Team basic units of autonomous agents, in second-order cybernetics, the two observers form the elementary core of society and maybe the elementary unit of autonomous agents in the social realm. I recommend Von Foerster, H. 2003[1979] Cybernetics of cybernetics. In: Von Foerster, H., (Ed.). Understanding understanding: Essays on cybernetics and cognition. Springer; 2003rd edition, New York, USA, pp. 283–286, for an overview of second-order cybernetics and Kesic (2024). Complexity and biocomplexity: Overview of some historical aspects and philosophical basis" Ecological Complexity

Author Response

I would like to thank the reviewer for constructive, well-informed and encouraging comments. I added suggested references (marked red) and the comment on the relevance of the second-order cybernetics for the collaboration in human-AI teams (red text).