Unbrokered Agent Coordination w/ Alex Obadia

Mon, 09 Nov 2026 00:00:00 +0000

AI agents will eventually be able to negotiate deals, share information, and coordinate with systems in the physical world with little human involvement. What would it take to make those interactions secure, and what happens when agents don't share the same interests? Jacob is joined by Alex Obadia, program director of Scaling Trust at the UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA), to discuss the research and infrastructure needed for secure multi-agent coordination. They explore cryptography and privacy-preserving tools, the Arena testbed for observing agent behavior, and the decision to use profit as a measure of performance. They also consider the implications of these ideas in safety, accountability, and inequality.

INTERVIEW RECORDED 2026.10.21; ASIDES RECORDED 2026.11.02; TRANSCRIPT

Chapters

00:00 ❙ Intro

04:52 ❙ Alex's Background

09:34 ❙ Joining ARIA

13:39 ❙ What is ARIA?

18:57 ❙ The Three Tracks: Tools, Theory, and Testbed

24:01 ❙ Salary Negotion Without Intermediaries

29:42 ❙ Protecting People from Middlemen

34:39 ❙ The Arena

40:29 ❙ Does Profit Make Safety Second-Class?

54:38 ❙ Who's Liable When an Agent Breaks a Deal?

02:53 ❙ Do Agents Reduce Friction or Move It?

14:02 ❙ Is Scaling Trust a Safety Program?

21:48 ❙ Will Agents Magnify Inequality?

29:19 ❙ ARIA's Freedom of Information Act Exemption

33:19 ❙ How to Get Involved

39:16 ❙ Outro

Embodied AI | Kairos.fm

Unbrokered Agent Coordination w/ Alex Obadia

Chapters

Links

ARIA

Scaling Trust

The Arena

Andon Labs

Why Friction Matters

Negotiation Studies

Freedom of Information Exemption

Other People and Ideas Mentioned