1 Abstract
Using agents which are triggered by user chat messages is a new way of using LLMs. Connecting LLMs with a triggering program known as a harness is a new technique of using LLMs. This RFD outlines a process for managing personal communication used by the author in simplefast. The method is by aggregating RSS feeds, newsletters, and other forms of communication in a central inbox under a bot account, bot@simple.fast. The user of the approach forwards relevant emails from their personal inbox, like leo@simple.fast, to their personal bot, along with instructions for processing the task. Attachments and more detailed instruction may be added to the email as well. For each new email, the bot then creates an internal memo in its account with what actions were taken. Notably, the bot is unable to send emails. With more trust features (aka only allowed replies to the thread) achieved by the harness, it could reply to the thread with what was accomplished and updates its internal state. The bot lives in a container isolated on the laptop of the author and communicates through the Fastmail JMAP API.
2 Rationale
The author believes this approach has several advantages over prior art. Notable examples include “OpenClaw” and “Master of Mischief”. Notably:
- Isolation of agents is absolutely necessary. With only read-only of email and personal calendar (which is then shared with the main user) as well as team contacts (for contacts based tasks) an agent is able to do a lot while unable in any way to touch the host system.
- Logging of thought: each activity of the bot seen by the outside world is further logged by the read-only set of emails sent to it.
- Privacy: the bot is unable to see any email not in its own inbox.
- Asynchronous activity: the medium of email is richer for expressing tasks (as anyone who has used email for work knows) then slack messages, and encourages deeper thought on the part of the communicator (myself) and the bot.
- Total encompassing of all information: due to legacy reasons, RSS and newsletters may sometimes only be able to accessed through email.
- Lightweight protocol: JMAP is able to be easily harnessed to a LLM in order to provide the functionality specified.