EDES
Ephemeral Distributed Execution System
Human-in-the-Loop Agent Orchestration
Last updated: February 2026
EDES is an ephemeral agent swarm orchestration engine built on a core principle: no direct autonomy. A human operator initiates every task. The swarm forms, executes with backstops where human decision-making is required, and self-decommissions once the task is complete. No persistent agents. No unchecked automation. Just AI-powered execution with human control at every critical point.
The Autonomy Problem
Today's AI agent frameworks promise full autonomy: set a goal and let the AI figure it out. In practice, this fails. LLMs are probabilistic systems. They hallucinate. They drift. They make confident decisions based on incorrect reasoning. The result: autonomous agents that are unreliable at best and dangerous at worst, especially for high-stakes business processes where a wrong decision has real consequences. EDES takes a different approach. Instead of pursuing full autonomy, EDES is built for augmentation, combining the speed and parallel processing of AI agent swarms with the judgment and accountability of human oversight.
Autonomous Agents
- •Accumulate context drift over long sessions
- •Make unchecked decisions at every step
- •Persist state that compounds errors
- •No clear accountability when things go wrong
EDES Orchestrated Swarms
- •Ephemeral: form per-task, dissolve on completion
- •Human backstops at every critical decision point
- •Stateless reset ensures no corrupted context carries over
- •Clear human accountability throughout execution
Core Principles
Human-Initiated Tasks
No direct autonomy. Every EDES workflow begins with a human operator defining the objective and scope. The system never acts without instruction.
Swarm Assembly & Execution
EDES organizes an agent swarm optimized for the specific task. Agents work in parallel, decomposing the objective into executable sub-tasks.
Decision Backstops
At every point requiring judgment or decision-making, execution pauses. The human operator reviews, validates, and approves before the swarm proceeds.
Task Completion & Dissolution
Once the task is complete, the agent swarm self-decommissions. No persistent state. No accumulated drift. Each engagement starts clean.
The EDES Execution Flow
Step 1 of 6
Human Initiates Task
Every EDES engagement starts with a human operator. The operator defines the objective, constraints, scope, and success criteria for the task. No agent assembles, no computation begins, and no action is taken until a human provides explicit instruction. This is a design principle, not a fallback.
Initiation
Human defines objective and scope
Parameters
Constraints and success criteria set
Principle
No action without human instruction
Step 1 of 6
Human Initiates Task
Every EDES engagement starts with a human operator. The operator defines the objective, constraints, scope, and success criteria for the task. No agent assembles, no computation begins, and no action is taken until a human provides explicit instruction. This is a design principle, not a fallback.
Ideal Use Cases
Deep Research & Analysis
Multi-source research tasks where the swarm gathers and synthesizes information, with human review at synthesis points before conclusions are drawn.
Complex Business Processes
Multi-step workflows where AI handles execution speed and the human ensures every decision aligns with business intent and context.
Supervised Automation
Production workflows that benefit from AI-powered execution speed but require human accountability at every material decision.
High-Stakes Decision Support
Scenarios where the cost of a wrong autonomous decision is too high. EDES ensures no action is taken without human validation.
Is EDES Right for You?
Common Questions
EDES Is Available as a Custom Deployment
EDES is currently deployed bespoke to organizations that require human-in-the-loop agent orchestration. Contact us to discuss your requirements.