Article Summary
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is introduced as an open, vendor-agnostic specification designed to enable AI models, particularly AI assistants, to interact with external tools and resources in a standardized manner.
- MCP aims to facilitate powerful, composable AI applications by allowing models to discover and utilize functions and APIs provided by external servers.
- It operates by defining a structured way for tools to describe their capabilities and for models to invoke these tools, passing inputs and receiving outputs.
- The protocol addresses the challenge of providing AI assistants with up-to-date, real-world information and the ability to perform actions beyond their core knowledge.
- It promotes a distributed system where various tool servers can offer services that AI assistants can access, enhancing their utility and extensibility.