Summary
AI model harnesses are the orchestration layer built around one or more AI models. In practice, a harness is the agentic scaffolding – planning, tool use, output verification and multi-agent coordination – that sits around the model or models; the term is used here in preference to ‘agent framework’ or ‘orchestration layer’ to emphasise that it is the engineered system, not the model alone, that delivers capability. They coordinate how AI models are tasked, how their outputs are verified, and how multiple AI models or specialised agents work together to complete complex multi-step activities, such as vulnerability discovery and exploit development. Recent cyber security benchmark test results (such as those found in CyberGym ) demonstrate that a well-engineered AI model harness can be as important a determinant of capability as the underlying AI model itself. The emergence of agentic AI harnesses carries an important implication for Australian organisations.