19 October 2026

Princeton-led paper argues AI agents need better evaluation methods

• Researchers led by Princeton University published a paper surveying how AI agents, software that acts on its own, are tested.
• The authors argue that headline benchmark scores alone no longer tell us enough about how these agents behave.
• They recommend examining the step-by-step records of what an agent did, not just its final answer.

How it was covered

AI Snake OilNarayanan & Kapoor

Agent evaluation methods, rising costs, research agenda, evaluator independence, and recommendations for different stakeholders