What is Autonomous Economic Agent (AEA) (Fetch.ai)?

An autonomous economic agent (AEA) is a software entity capable of performing actions without external control or input. Once created and given a directive, AEAs can operate on their own behalf — possessing a type of agency. On the Fetch.ai platform, AEAs contain a unique identifier as part of each agent's wallet, which allows the AEA to transact with the network's native FET tokens. Among other forms, AEAs may exist purely as software, as an application programming interface (API), or be paired to hardware in the real world (like a thermometer or other type of sensor).