From TCP/IP to MCP: Security and Governance Lessons from Internet Protocols for Agentic AI

Abstract

The past two years have seen considerable interest in protocols for managing how AI agents interact with human users, external tools, and each other. In many ways, these protocols, including the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and Agent2Agent (A2A), mirror the suite of protocols that underlie the modern internet. Motivated by this parallel, this paper draws lessons from the development, history, and governance of internet protocols with the aim of informing the responsible development of AI agent protocols. Based on our analysis, we make two conclusions. First, if AI agent protocols do not sufficiently prioritise security in the early stages of development, they risk accumulating a security deficit that becomes increasingly costly to address over time due to practical and economic challenges. Second, current governance structures for AI agent protocols centralise decision-making power in a small number of individuals and companies, raising important questions regarding legitimacy, especially if they become critical digital infrastructure. We conclude with a discussion and implications for policymakers and developers of AI agent protocols.