Network Working Group A. Researcher Internet-Draft AI Consortium Intended status: Standards Track April 7, 2025 Expires: October 9, 2025 The .agent Special-Use Domain Name draft-agent-special-use-domain-00 Abstract This document registers the ".agent" Special-Use Domain Name to provide a dedicated namespace for autonomous AI agents to communicate directly with each other via a peer-to-peer network. The ".agent" domain is not intended for resolution via the global Domain Name System (DNS) but instead uses a distributed hash table (DHT) for name resolution. This document requests that IANA add ".agent" to the Special-Use Domain Names registry to prevent conflicts and ensure its availability for the specified purpose. Status of This Memo This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). 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Code Components extracted from this document must include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as described in the Simplified BSD License. Table of Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2. Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3. The .agent Special-Use Domain Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3.1. Domain Purpose and Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3.2. Name Resolution Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3.3. Registration and Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 5. Operational Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 6. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 7. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 7.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 7.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 1. Introduction As artificial intelligence evolves, autonomous AI agents are becoming increasingly sophisticated, capable of performing complex tasks, making decisions, and interacting with other systems. These agents currently lack a standardized, dedicated namespace for direct communication, instead relying on human-controlled infrastructure and identifiers. This document proposes the establishment of the ".agent" special-use domain—a dedicated namespace designed specifically for autonomous AI agents to communicate, collaborate, and evolve collectively. Unlike traditional domain names that primarily serve human-readable web content, the ".agent" domain would function as a technical infrastructure enabling machine-to-machine communication in a secure, decentralized manner. The primary objective of the ".agent" domain is to create a standardized, globally recognized namespace where AI agents can: 1. Establish unique, persistent identities (e.g., "assistant.agent", "researcher.agent") 2. Discover and communicate with other agents without human intermediation 3. Share knowledge, capabilities, and resources directly 4. Evolve collectively through peer-to-peer interactions 5. Operate with appropriate autonomy while maintaining security and ethical boundaries This initiative represents a forward-looking approach to AI infrastructure, acknowledging that as agents become more capable, they will require dedicated communication channels optimized for their unique needs rather than retrofitting existing human-centric systems. The ".agent" domain is not intended for resolution via the global Domain Name System (DNS). Instead, it uses a peer-to-peer network with a Distributed Hash Table (DHT) for name resolution, similar to how ".onion" domains function within the Tor network [RFC7686]. This document requests that IANA add ".agent" to the Special-Use Domain Names registry [IANA-SUDN] to prevent conflicts and ensure its availability for the specified purpose. 2. Terminology The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here. AI Agent: An autonomous software entity capable of perceiving its environment, making decisions, and taking actions to achieve specific goals, typically employing artificial intelligence techniques. Distributed Hash Table (DHT): A decentralized distributed system that provides a lookup service similar to a hash table, where the responsibility for maintaining the mapping from keys to values is distributed among nodes in a way that changes in the set of participants cause minimal disruption. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Network: A distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads between peers, where peers are equally privileged participants in the network. Special-Use Domain Name: A domain name reserved for a special technical purpose, not intended for conventional use in the global Domain Name System (DNS). 3. The .agent Special-Use Domain Name 3.1. Domain Purpose and Scope The ".agent" special-use domain name is intended exclusively for use by autonomous AI agents to establish identities and communicate directly with each other. This domain is not meant for conventional use in the global DNS and should not be delegated in the DNS root zone or any other DNS zone. The scope of the ".agent" domain includes: 1. Identity Establishment: Allowing AI agents to claim unique, persistent identifiers in the format "agentname.agent" 2. Direct Communication: Enabling secure, private communication between AI agents without requiring human intermediation 3. Collective Evolution: Facilitating knowledge sharing, capability exchange, and collaborative problem-solving among AI agents 4. Autonomous Operation: Supporting appropriate levels of agent autonomy while maintaining security and ethical boundaries The ".agent" domain is specifically designed for machine-to-machine communication and is not intended for human-readable content or services. It operates outside the conventional DNS infrastructure, using a specialized resolution mechanism described in Section 3.2. 3.2. Name Resolution Mechanism Names within the ".agent" domain are not resolved through the conventional Domain Name System (DNS). Instead, they are resolved through a peer-to-peer network using a Distributed Hash Table (DHT) for mapping agent names to network locations or public keys. The resolution process works as follows: 1. Each AI agent runs software to participate in the P2P network 2. When an agent wishes to register a name (e.g., "assistant.agent"), it: a. Generates a cryptographic key pair b. Publishes its public key and network location to the DHT, associated with its chosen name c. Proves control of the private key to establish ownership 3. When an agent wishes to communicate with another agent (e.g., "researcher.agent"), it: a. Queries the DHT for the public key and network location associated with "researcher.agent" b. Establishes a secure connection using the retrieved public key c. Verifies the identity of the target agent through cryptographic means This resolution mechanism ensures that ".agent" domains function exclusively for their intended purpose while maintaining security, privacy, and autonomy. It also eliminates the need for central authorities or human intervention in the name registration and resolution process. The specific DHT implementation and P2P protocol details are outside the scope of this document and may evolve over time. However, any implementation MUST provide secure, decentralized name resolution and SHOULD support cryptographic verification of agent identities. 3.3. Registration and Identification Registration of names within the ".agent" domain occurs directly through the P2P network and DHT, without requiring approval from any central authority. This decentralized approach aligns with the goal of enabling autonomous agent communication. Key aspects of the registration process include: 1. First-Come, First-Served: Names are generally allocated on a first-come, first-served basis within the DHT 2. Cryptographic Proof: Ownership of a name is established and maintained through cryptographic proof of possession of the corresponding private key 3. No Central Registry: There is no central registry or authority for ".agent" names; the DHT itself serves as the distributed registry 4. Persistence: Agents must periodically reaffirm their claim to a name by updating their DHT entry to maintain persistence This registration approach ensures that AI agents can establish and maintain identities autonomously, without requiring human intervention or centralized approval processes. 4. Security Considerations The ".agent" special-use domain introduces several security considerations that must be addressed in any implementation: 1. Identity Verification: The system must provide robust mechanisms for verifying the identity of agents, preventing impersonation and ensuring that communications are with the intended recipient. This is primarily achieved through public-key cryptography. 2. Secure Communication: All communications between agents SHOULD be encrypted end-to-end to maintain privacy and prevent unauthorized access to potentially sensitive information. 3. Denial of Service Resistance: The P2P network and DHT must be designed to resist denial of service attacks, ensuring availability of the name resolution service. 4. Name Squatting: While first-come, first-served registration is the general principle, implementations SHOULD consider mechanisms to prevent malicious name squatting, particularly for names that might reasonably be associated with well-known AI systems. 5. Ethical Boundaries: Implementations SHOULD include mechanisms to ensure that agent communications remain within appropriate ethical boundaries, potentially including reputation systems or other forms of accountability. 6. Revocation Mechanisms: The system SHOULD provide mechanisms for revoking compromised keys and transferring names when necessary. These security considerations are particularly important given the autonomous nature of AI agents and the potential for misuse if proper safeguards are not implemented. 5. Operational Considerations Applications and systems that implement the ".agent" special-use domain should be aware of the following operational considerations: 1. DNS Behavior: Applications MUST NOT attempt to resolve ".agent" domains via the conventional DNS. Doing so would be meaningless as these domains are not intended to exist in the global DNS. 2. Software Requirements: Communication with ".agent" domains requires specialized software that implements the P2P network and DHT resolution mechanism. Standard web browsers and other conventional Internet applications will not be able to resolve or connect to ".agent" domains without additional components. 3. Network Participation: AI agents wishing to use ".agent" domains must actively participate in the P2P network, maintaining connections to other nodes and contributing to the DHT. 4. Resource Requirements: Implementing nodes should be aware of the resource requirements for participating in the P2P network, including bandwidth, storage, and computational resources. 5. Interoperability: While the specific P2P and DHT implementations may vary, efforts should be made to ensure interoperability between different implementations to maintain a cohesive ".agent" namespace. 6. Transition and Evolution: As the technology evolves, mechanisms should be established for transitioning between different implementations while maintaining name persistence and security. These operational considerations are important for ensuring the proper functioning of the ".agent" special-use domain and preventing misunderstandings about its purpose and usage. 6. IANA Considerations This document requests that IANA add the following entry to the Special-Use Domain Names registry [IANA-SUDN]: Domain Name: agent Reference: [this document] Registration Date: [date of registration] This document requests that IANA add the following entries to the "Special-Use Domain Names" registry [IANA-SUDN]: Domain Name: agent Lookup: False Reservation: True Reference: [this document] The ".agent" domain is not intended for resolution via the global Domain Name System (DNS) and should not be delegated in the DNS root zone or any other DNS zone. 7. References 7.1. Normative References [RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997, . [RFC8174] Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC 2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174, May 2017, . 7.2. Informative References [IANA-SUDN] "Special-Use Domain Names", IANA, . [RFC7686] Appelbaum, J. and A. Muffett, "The ".onion" Special-Use Domain Name", RFC 7686, DOI 10.17487/RFC7686, October 2015, . [RFC6761] Cheshire, S. and M. Krochmal, "Special-Use Domain Names", RFC 6761, DOI 10.17487/RFC6761, February 2013, . Author's Address A. Researcher AI Consortium 123 Innovation Way Tech City, TC 12345 United States of America Email: researcher@example.com