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# From A2A to MCP: How AI’s “Brains” are Connecting to “Arms and Legs”


- **Date:** Friday, Jul 11, 2025
- **Time:** 11:40–12:10 (30 min)
- **Room:** Stage 7
- **Event:** World Congress 2025
- **Tags:** ai

## Recording

[Watch recording](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1631-from-a2a-to-mcp-how-ai-s-brains-are-connecting-to-arms-and-legs)

## Description

As AI evolves, we can think of LLMs as the "brains" of AI systems, while agents and tools serve as their "arms and legs" – the components that interact with the world and execute actions. Between these lies a critical but often overlooked element: the protocols that act as a nervous system, transmitting signals, coordinating actions, and integrating feedback between AI models and their capabilities.

This talk explores how protocols like Model Context Protocol (MCP) and Google's Agent-to-Agent (A2A) are enabling AI systems to extend beyond chat to practical action. We'll explore how these protocols allow LLMs to access external tools, manage persistent memory, and collaborate with other agents.

We'll examine where protocols excel in solving today's challenges, and where they need to evolve to support increasingly complex AI applications. We'll examine how the community can contribute to shaping this infrastructure layer, ensuring it supports the next wave of AI innovation.

## Speaker

### [Brad Axen](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@brad-axen)

Tech Lead, AI & Data at Block


## Related talks at this congress

- [Beyond Prompting: Building Scalable AI with Multi-Agent Systems and MCP](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2025/sessions/802-beyond-prompting) — Viktoria Semaan
- [Building AI Tool Integrations with Model Context Protocol](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2025/sessions/467-building-ai-tool) — Adam Cowley, Michael Hunger
- [AI Agents Graph: Your following tool in your Java AI journey](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2025/sessions/904-ai-agents-graph-your) — Alex Soto
- [MCP Mashups: How AI Agents are Reviving the Programmable Web](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2025/sessions/559-mcp-mashups-how-ai) — Angie Jones