AI时代，人不再只是「社会关系的总和」，而是由无数数据、记录和互动的上下文构成的。 这不是科幻。这是正在发生的现实。 而这一切的起点，是一个被严重误解的领域——Context Engineering（上下文工程）。 来自于上海创智学院刘鹏飞老师团队，提出上下文工程2.0，剖析上下文工程的：本质、历史与未来。 一个被遗忘的真相 2025年，当你第一次向ChatGPT输入一段精心设计的prompt，你可能以为自己在做一件前所未有的事情——用自然语言「编程」，让AI理解你的意图。 但如果告诉你，早在2000年，佐治亚理工大学的研究者就在做同样的事情呢？ 那时还没有GPT，甚至连智能手机都还没有。 但Anind Dey和他的团队已经在思考一个核心问题：如何让机器理解人类所处的「上下文」（context），从而提供更智能的服务？ 他们开发了Context Toolkit——一个帮助开发者构建「上下文感知应用」的框架。 当你走进办公室，系统会自动：检测你的位置（通过红外传感器）、识别你的身份（通过ID卡）、推断你的活动（会议 vs 个人工作）、调整环境（灯 光、温度、通知模式）。 这个过程需要什么？需要工程师精心设计传感 ...

Core Insights - Context engineering has emerged as a critical concept in agent development, addressing the challenges of managing extensive context generated during tool calls and long horizon reasoning, which can hinder agent performance and increase costs [2][4][7] - The concept was introduced by Andrej Karpathy, emphasizing the importance of providing the right information at the right time to enhance agent efficiency [4][5] - Context engineering encompasses five main strategies: Offload, Reduce, Retrieve, Isolate, and Cache, which aim to optimize the management of context in AI agents [3][14] Group 1: Context Engineering Overview - Context engineering is seen as a subset of AI engineering, focusing on optimizing the context window for LLMs during tool calls [5][7] - The need for context engineering arises from the limitations of prompt engineering, as agents require context from both human instructions and tool outputs [7][14] - A typical task may involve around 50 tool calls, leading to significant token consumption and potential performance degradation if not managed properly [7][8] Group 2: Strategies for Context Management - **Offload**: This strategy involves transferring context information to external storage rather than sending it back to the model, thus optimizing resource utilization [15][18] - **Reduce**: This method focuses on summarizing or pruning context to eliminate irrelevant information while being cautious of potential data loss [24][28] - **Retrieve**: This strategy entails fetching relevant information from external resources to enhance the context provided to the model [38][40] - **Isolate**: This approach involves separating context for different agents to prevent interference and improve efficiency [46][49] - **Cache**: Caching context can significantly reduce costs and improve efficiency by storing previously computed results for reuse [54][56] Group 3: Practical Applications and Insights - The implementation of context engineering strategies has been validated through various case studies, demonstrating their effectiveness in real-world applications [3][14] - Companies like Manus and Cognition have shared insights on the importance of context management, emphasizing the need for careful design in context handling to avoid performance issues [29][37] - The concept of "the Bitter Lesson" highlights the importance of leveraging computational power and data to enhance AI capabilities, suggesting that simpler, more flexible approaches may yield better long-term results [59][71]

Core Insights - Manus has announced a revenue run rate (RRR) of $90 million, indicating a significant financial milestone for the company [1] - The company has shifted its market positioning strategy, moving from Beijing to Singapore to enhance its global presence and compliance with international regulations [3][5] - The founder has expressed a commitment to establishing Manus as a world-class company, emphasizing the importance of global market integration while maintaining its Chinese roots [5] Financial Performance - The reported revenue run rate (RRR) of $90 million serves as a predictive indicator of Manus's annual revenue based on current monthly income [1] - The company has previously refrained from discussing annual recurring revenue (ARR) but is now more open about its financial metrics to establish a clearer market position [3] Strategic Decisions - The relocation of Manus's headquarters to Singapore is driven by the need for compliance with cross-border data regulations and access to necessary technology [5] - The decision reflects a broader strategy to address challenges in the Chinese market while aiming for a more robust international footprint [3][5] Product Development - Manus has shared insights on its development process for AI agents, including the choice of context engineering over developing proprietary models [4] - The company has faced criticism for not addressing core issues in its public communications, indicating a need for more transparency [4]

Core Viewpoint - Manus, a new AI agent developed by the startup "Butterfly Effect," has gained significant attention for its capabilities in various tasks such as resume screening and stock analysis, but has recently withdrawn from the Chinese market, sparking controversy and discussion within the industry [1][2]. Strategic Focus of Manus - The co-founder, Ji Yichao, emphasized that Manus's decision to not develop its own underlying model was a strategic choice aimed at achieving Product-Market Fit (PMF), which is crucial for startup success [4][5]. - Initially, Ji Yichao considered self-developing a foundational model but realized that it would hinder the ability to meet market demands and validate PMF efficiently [5]. - The team recognized the risks associated with technological lock-in when relying on proprietary models, leading to the decision to build Manus based on cutting-edge models instead [5][6]. Investment in Context Engineering - Manus focuses on "Context Engineering," a critical concept in the application of large language models (LLMs), which involves optimizing input text to guide the model in generating desired outputs [8][9]. - Context Engineering aims to transition LLMs from general assistants to specialized experts that can integrate into various industry workflows, addressing the challenge of AI implementation in real-world scenarios [9]. Core Optimization Principles - Ji Yichao outlined six core optimization principles for Manus, including maintaining stable prompt prefixes, externalizing memory through a virtual file system, and dynamically updating task lists to enhance model performance [11][14]. - These principles are essential for the stability, efficiency, and scalability of the AI agent, which are critical for its commercial viability [12][14]. Market Withdrawal Reasons - The withdrawal from the Chinese market may be attributed to strategic considerations, including the inability to sustain product development across two markets and the pressure for commercial growth [15][16]. - Domestic users perceived Manus's pricing as high without clear differentiation from local competitors, impacting its conversion rates [16]. - The decision to focus on more commercially viable markets reflects the challenges faced by small to medium enterprises in the competitive AI landscape [16][17]. Industry Implications - Manus's experience signals to the industry that the core competitive advantage in AI agent commercialization may not lie solely in the underlying model but in how effectively a system is built around it to provide timely and relevant information [18][19]. - The ongoing trend of vertical AI agent startups and the emergence of new generation agents highlight the necessity for companies to create systems that integrate LLMs into professional workflows effectively [19].

Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the significant advancements in AI, particularly the recent achievements of OpenAI and Google DeepMind in solving complex mathematical problems, marking a potential "moon landing moment" for AI capabilities [4][7][13]. Group 1: AI Developments and Achievements - OpenAI's new model achieved a gold medal level in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) by solving five out of six problems, which is a groundbreaking achievement for a general language model [7][8]. - Google DeepMind's Gemini DeepThink model also received official recognition for achieving the same level of performance in the IMO, indicating that multiple companies are advancing in this area [14]. - The ability of language models to solve complex mathematical proofs without specific optimization suggests a significant leap in reasoning capabilities, which could lead to new knowledge discovery [12][20]. Group 2: AI Community and Market Trends - The global AI community is still in the early adopter phase, with users willing to experiment and provide feedback, which is crucial for product improvement [5]. - The article highlights the importance of "investing in people" in the AI era, emphasizing that strong teams with a clear technical vision are essential for success [5][52]. - The competition for talent in the AI sector is intensifying, with significant investments and acquisitions occurring in Silicon Valley and beyond [35]. Group 3: AI Applications and Future Outlook - AI applications are becoming mainstream, with notable advancements in coding tools and reasoning capabilities, indicating a shift from research-focused to practical applications [32][33]. - The emergence of AI agents capable of handling complex tasks autonomously is a key development, with products like Devin and Manus leading the way [34]. - The article suggests that the next few years will see rapid advancements in AI capabilities, potentially leading to significant breakthroughs that could exceed market expectations [41].

Core Insights - The article discusses the evolution of AI from chatbots to agents, highlighting a significant shift in focus towards task decomposition, tool utilization, and autonomous planning as of 2025 [4][5] - It draws parallels between the character Leonard from the film "Memento" and the concept of AI agents, emphasizing the importance of context engineering in enabling agents to function effectively in complex environments [5][10] Context Engineering - Context engineering is defined as a comprehensive technology stack designed to manage information input and output around the limited attention span of large language models (LLMs) [5][13] - The goal of context engineering is to provide agents with the right information at each decision point, which is crucial for their success [5] Three Pillars of Context Engineering - **External Knowledge Management**: This pillar involves a memory extension module that helps agents overcome short-term memory limitations by providing necessary historical information at decision points [19][20] - **Context Distillation & Structuring**: This pillar focuses on processing and filtering information to extract essential facts, ensuring that agents do not become overwhelmed by excessive data [21][25] - **Hierarchical Memory Management**: This pillar emphasizes the need for a layered memory architecture, allowing agents to maintain focus on their core mission while managing dynamic task-related information [26][30] Challenges in Agent Design - The article identifies two critical vulnerabilities in agent design: context poisoning, where agents may process misleading information, and self-reinforcing cognitive prisons, where agents may rely on their own flawed conclusions [32][34] - It stresses the importance of incorporating a verification and reflection module to mitigate these risks, enabling agents to compare outcomes with expected goals and adjust accordingly [35][36]

Core Insights - The article emphasizes the importance of context engineering in building AI agents, highlighting practical lessons learned from the Manus project [1][2][3] Group 1: Context Engineering - Manus decided to focus on context engineering rather than traditional end-to-end training of agents, significantly reducing product improvement cycles from weeks to hours [3] - The practice of context engineering is described as an experimental science, with Manus having restructured its agent framework multiple times to discover better methods for shaping context [3][4] Group 2: Key Metrics - The KV cache hit rate is identified as the most critical metric for production-level AI agents, directly impacting latency and cost [5] - Manus has achieved a significant cost reduction by utilizing KV caching, with cached input tokens costing $0.30 per million tokens compared to $3 per million for uncached tokens, representing a tenfold difference [8] Group 3: Action Space Management - To manage the complexity of the action space, Manus employs a masking technique to control tool availability without removing them, thus preventing confusion in the model [15][18] - The article advises against dynamically adding or removing tools during iterations, as it can invalidate the KV cache and disrupt the agent's performance [12][13] Group 4: Memory and Context Management - Manus treats the file system as an external context, allowing for unlimited capacity and persistent storage, which helps manage the challenges of context length limitations [23][26] - The strategy of keeping failed attempts in context is highlighted as a method to improve the agent's learning and reduce the likelihood of repeating mistakes [35] Group 5: Attention Control - Manus employs a mechanism of recitation by maintaining a todo.md file that updates throughout task execution, helping the model stay focused on core objectives [27][31] - The article warns against the pitfalls of few-shot prompting, which can lead to behavioral rigidity in agents, suggesting the introduction of diversity in actions and observations to maintain flexibility [36][38] Conclusion - Context engineering is presented as a foundational aspect of successful agent systems, with the design of memory, environment, and feedback being crucial for the agent's performance and adaptability [39][40]