Junior interview question
What is excessive agency?
Model answer
An application that can take damaging actions when model output is unexpected, ambiguous or manipulated. OWASP names three causes: excessive functionality, permissions and autonomy.
Scroll sideways to see the whole diagram
OWASP's LLM06:2025, Excessive Agency, names three root causes. First: tools with more functionality than the application needs.
Text version
- OWASP's LLM06:2025, Excessive Agency, names three root causes. First: tools with more functionality than the application needs.
- Second: tools that reach downstream systems with more permissions than their task requires.
- Third: high-impact actions taken without independent verification or approval.
- OWASP's point: excessive agency enables damaging actions in response to unexpected, ambiguous or manipulated outputs, whatever caused them. Limit the agency, and every cause does less harm.
Practise the rest
6 Bounded autonomy questions, 492 in all, each with a model answer. Free.