A Two-Dimensional Framework for AI Agent Design Patterns: Cognitive Function and Execution Topology
Existing frameworks for LLM-based agent architectures describe systems from a single perspective: industry guides (Anthropic, Google, LangChain) focus on execution topology -- how data flows -- while cognitive science surveys focus on cognitive function -- what the agent does. Neither axis alone disambiguates architecturally distinct systems: the same Orchestrator-Workers topology can implement Plan-and-Execute, Hierarchical Delegation, or Adversarial Verification -- three patterns with fundamen
Record details
Published: 16 March 2026
Source: arXiv
Category: Research
Topics: Agents & autonomy
Retrieved: 14 July 2026
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ethics.ai (16 March 2026), “A Two-Dimensional Framework for AI Agent Design Patterns: Cognitive Function and Execution Topology,” evidence record 7196, https://ethics.ai/record/7196 (originally published by arXiv).
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