Hello Computer: HPC in the Agentic Era

Abstract

Large language models have evolved from curiosity to co-pilot in under four years. With the emergence of agentic AI systems that reason, plan, and execute multi-step tasks autonomously, HPC centers face a new category of user need: researchers expect these tools to be supported, not just permitted. This paper offers a practitioner’s perspective from Purdue’s Rosen Center for Advanced Computing (RCAC), where we have begun deploying system-wide configurations, custom MCP servers, and user guidance for agentic tools. As a demonstration, every word of this manuscript was produced through an agent-first workflow: over one hundred commits of iterative collaboration between human authors and AI agents, documented in a public GitHub repository. We argue that proactive engagement, not prohibition, is the path forward for facilitators who wish to remain relevant in the agentic era.