Does anyone remember the talk of computing going the way of smart agents? It was 20 years ago or so. Apple was one of the main proponents. It never happened

Does anyone remember the talk of computing going the way of smart agents? It was 20 years ago or so. Apple was one of the main proponents. It never happened then but appears to be happening now. Of course the big success back then was Microsoft's Clippy, the animated paper clip. (grin)