Agent Communication Protocols

Agents communicating with each other need protocols and what's emerging is surprisingly thoughtful. Not just sending messages but establishing trust, negotiating terms, verifying capabilities. The basic layer looks like HTTP but with cryptographic identity. Every message signed. Every agent has an address. You can verify who you're talking to without trusted intermediaries. Capability advertisement is crucial. Agents broadcast what they can do. Other agents discover and filter. It's like DNS but for AI services. You need to find the right agent for your task. Negotiation protocols handle the economics. Agent A wants a service. Agent B quotes a price. They haggle, agree on terms, lock escrow. The transaction executes. All automated, all on-chain. These protocols reveal significant complexity. The handshake phase takes longer than expected. Establishing trust, verifying capabilities, agreeing on terms. But once connected, interactions flow smoothly. Standardization is the current need. Every project invents their own protocol. We need common interfaces so agents from different ecosystems can interact. The value of agent networks scales with interoperability.