{"training":{"id":"T-SPEND-1","slug":"unattended-agents-and-their-spend","title":"Unattended agents and their spend","policyId":"P-SPEND","minutes":3,"version":1,"lang":"en","assignment":{"happened":"On {date}, {agent} on {device} passed the spend ceiling of {ceiling}; {blocked}.","matters":"A {minutesWord} training shows how an agent left on its own runs up a bill, and how to give it a limit."},"lesson":[{"id":"what-happened","heading":"What happened on {device}","body":["On {date} at {time}, {agent} on {device} passed the spend ceiling during a session: {session}. qcontrol recorded it as: {evidence}.","The ceiling is {ceiling}, so the policy {policy} recorded a finding. {outcome}"],"illustration":{"scene":"spend-ceiling","alt":"{agent} on {device} runs on its own, and its spend passes the ceiling.","animated":true}},{"id":"retry-loop","heading":"How an agent on its own runs up a bill","body":["Each turn an agent takes is a paid request to the model. When you are there, a session ends when you end it.","Left on its own, an agent that meets a step it cannot finish, such as a test that fails at random, tries again, and again. Nothing in it gets tired, and every try is another paid turn."],"illustration":{"scene":"retry-loop","alt":"A step fails, the agent tries again, and each try is a paid turn with the model."}},{"id":"what-qpoint-does","heading":"What Qpoint does about it","body":["qcontrol adds up what agents spend over any 24 hours and compares it with the ceilings: {ceilings}. Spend past a ceiling is a finding.","The ceiling records and cannot pause or stop a session. Only you, or someone with access to the machine, can stop it."],"illustration":{"scene":"mode-observe","alt":"{agent} on {device} carries on, and qcontrol records a finding beside it.","animated":true}},{"id":"instead","heading":"What to do instead","body":["Before you leave an agent running on its own, give it a limit: tell it to stop and report after a few failed tries, and use your agent's own limits where it has them, such as a maximum number of turns.","Check on a long run, or run it where someone is watching.","If you find an agent still trying the same step, stop the session and tell {owner} how long it ran."],"illustration":{"scene":"agent-limit","alt":"Before you leave it, give the agent a limit: a few tries, then stop and report."},"instead":true}],"check":[{"id":"q-cost","prompt":"An agent left overnight retries a failing test every forty seconds. What does each retry cost?","choices":[{"id":"a","text":"Nothing; retries are free"},{"id":"b","text":"A paid turn with the model, every time","right":true},{"id":"c","text":"Only the first try is charged"}],"explain":"Each try is another paid turn with the model, and an agent on its own does not stop by itself.","stepId":"retry-loop"},{"id":"q-qpoint","prompt":"Your agent passed the spend ceiling during the night. What did Qpoint do?","choices":[{"id":"a","text":"It recorded a finding; nothing paused the session","right":true},{"id":"b","text":"It paused the session until morning"},{"id":"c","text":"It stopped the session and sent you an email"}],"explain":"The ceiling records spend past it and cannot pause or stop a session.","stepId":"what-qpoint-does"},{"id":"q-before","prompt":"Before you leave an agent running on its own, what helps most?","choices":[{"id":"a","text":"A faster model, so each try ends sooner"},{"id":"b","text":"Turning off its notifications"},{"id":"c","text":"A limit: a few tries, then stop and report","right":true}],"explain":"A limit ends the loop: a few tries, then stop and report, and the agent's own maximum where it has one.","stepId":"instead"},{"id":"q-found","prompt":"You come in and find your agent still retrying the same step. What do you do?","choices":[{"id":"a","text":"Let it finish; it may pass soon"},{"id":"b","text":"Stop the session, and tell {owner} how long it ran","right":true},{"id":"c","text":"Restart it with more time"}],"explain":"Stop the session first, then tell {owner} how long it ran, so the spend can be followed up.","stepId":"instead"}],"contact":{"owner":"{owner}","how":"Contact IT from the message that brought you here, or reply to it; the replies reach {owner}."},"library":{"lesson":[{"id":"what-happened","heading":"What happens when an agent runs on its own","body":["Your agent on {device} pays the model for each turn it takes. qcontrol adds up what agents spend over any 24 hours.","When the total passes the ceiling of {ceiling}, the policy {policy} records a finding."],"illustration":{"scene":"spend-ceiling","alt":"{agent} on {device} runs on its own, and its spend passes the ceiling.","animated":true}}],"check":[]}},"version":1,"contentHash":"sha256:2d3b3d1da9d7853002c9e8a3285f932d08ecee48dc1781cff5dd2af644bec455","slots":["agent","blocked","ceiling","ceilings","date","device","evidence","minutesWord","outcome","owner","policy","session","time"],"path":"app/data/trainings/en/unattended-agents-and-their-spend.md"}