From RAG to Agentic RAG to AI Memory (Evolution Narrative)
~10 min read
The 3-stage evolution narrative — RAG (retrieve once, read-only) → Agentic RAG (decides if/which/whether retrieval helps, still read-only) → AI Memory (reads AND writes, learns from interactions) — bridging RAG into agent memory concepts.
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Key points
- •RAG (2020-2023): retrieve once, generate once, no decision-making — often retrieves irrelevant context
- •Agentic RAG: the agent decides IF retrieval is needed, WHICH source to query, and validates IF results are useful — still fundamentally read-only
- •AI Memory: reads AND writes to external knowledge, learning from past conversations rather than treating every interaction as isolated
- •This 3-stage progression bridges RAG architecture concepts into broader agent memory concepts covered elsewhere in the curriculum