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Core
Agent Guardrails
An agent that can take actions is far riskier than one that only talks, so guardrails must constrain actions, not just text. The core controls are least privilege (scoped tools/credentials), validating every tool call, human approval for irreversible/high-impact actions, bounded iterations and budget, and sandboxed execution. The mindset is to assume the agent can be wrong or hijacked (prompt injection) and design so the worst case is contained. Applied-AI interviews probe it because deploying agents safely is the hard part of agentic AI.
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TAUGHT IN THESE COURSES
This concept is a reference. These lessons put it in sequence, with what comes before and after it.
Applied AI Engineering·Tools and your first agentSign in120mProject: give your retrieval system a toolTake the system you built in module 4 and let it act, not just answer. One tool, one bounded loop, a confirmation gate on anything irreversible, and an honest comparison against the version without a loop.Applied AI Engineering·ProductionSign in14mEverything the model reads is untrustedA system that retrieves documents and calls tools has a security property most engineers meet for the first time here: instructions can arrive inside data. This lesson covers why prompt fixes are insufficient and where the defence actually goes.Agent Engineering·Trusting nothing the agent readsSign in14mThe dangerous text is the text your own code fetchedInjection through a chat box is the easy case, because you know that text is untrusted. The hard case arrives inside a tool result your own code requested, wearing your system's clothes. This lesson maps where untrusted text actually enters an agent and what to do at each door.
RELATED CONCEPTS
PRACTICE THIS IN REAL QUESTIONS
RAG & Agent System DesignHow do you implement guardrails for an autonomous agent to prevent harmful or irreversible actions?→RAG & Agent System DesignHow do you let an AI agent execute code safely (sandboxing)?→System Design for AI in ProductionDesign a medical diagnosis assistant using AI, safely.→AI Security, Privacy & GovernanceWhat is indirect prompt injection, and why is it so dangerous for RAG and agents?→AI Security, Privacy & GovernanceYour agent reads untrusted content and can send data externally. How do you stop prompt-injection data exfiltration?→System Design for AI in ProductionDesign a computer-use agent that operates a browser to complete tasks (book travel, fill forms) reliably.→
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