MemoryasaService(MaaS):RethinkingContextualMemory asService-OrientedModulesforCollaborativeAgents
HaichangLi PurdueUniversity WestLafayette,US li4560@purdue.edu
Abstract
ThispositionpaperaimstorethinktheroleanddesignofmemoryinLarge LanguageModel(LLM)-basedagentsystems.Weobservethatwhilecurrentmemorypracticeshavebeguntotranscendthelimitationsofsingle interactions,theyremainconceptuallygroundedin”boundmemory”in termsofdesignconcept—wherememoryistreatedaslocalstateattached tospecificcontextorentities,forming”memorysilos”thatimpedecrossentitycollaboration.Toovercomethisarchitecturalbottleneck,thispaper proposesthetimelydesignperspectiveof”MemoryasaService”(MaaS). MaaSadvocatesdecouplingmemoryfromitsconventionalroleasaninteractionbyproductandencapsulatingitasamodularservicethatcan beindependentlycallable,dynamicallycomposable,andfinelygoverned. Atitscore,MaaSleveragesthedualityofmemory—itsinherentlyprivate natureanditspotentialforpublicservice—tograntmemorycontrolled, on-demandinteroperabilityacrossentities.Thispaperintroducesatwodimensionaldesignspacedefinedbyentitystructureandservicetype, illustratinghowMaaSalignswithcurrentmemorypracticeswhilenaturallyextendingthemtocross-entitycollaborativescenarios.Finally,we outlineanopenresearchagendaspanninggovernance,security,andethical ecosystems,andcalluponthebroaderresearchcommunitytoexplorethis shifttowardservice-orientedmemoryforcollaborativeagentsoperating acrossentityboundaries.
1Introduction
Therapidevolutionofthelargelanguagemodel(LLM)istransformingLLM-basedagents from“tools”intosymbiotic“partners”.Toestablishacontinuousandin-depthcollaborative relationship,therobustcapacityformemoryisakeysupport.However,thecurrent prevailingdesigns—fromcross-sessionmemoryinchatassistantstotheModelContext Protocol(MCP)—shareafoundationalassumption:memoryisalocalstateboundtoasingle entity.Thisassumptionspawnscountless“memorysilos”thathindercollaborationacross variousentities,includingindividuals,agents,andgroups.Eventhemostrecentworkin cross-entitysharing—forexample,CollaborativeMemory(Rezazadehetal., 2025)—remains confinedtoaparticularcooperativeenclave,forcingeverynewenvironmenttorealign contextthroughad-hocexchanges.
Thecoreofthisarchitecturalimpasseisthetreatmentofcontextualmemory.Different fromparametricmemory—knowledgeembeddedinthemodelweightsandmodifiable onlythroughpre-trainingorpost-training—contextualmemorycomprisesdynamicand actionableexternalinformationtieddirectlytoanentity’slivedexperiences(Duetal., 2025). Intheprevailingsiloedparadigm,suchmemorycannotcirculateorbesharedefficiently, constitutingtheobstacleofcollaborativeintelligence.
DrawinginspirationfromData-as-a-Service(DaaS)(Machan, 2009),whichdismantled ”datasilos,”weadvanceMemory-as-a-Service(MaaS)asanewdesignperspective.MaaS decouplescontextualmemoryfromitslocalizedstateandencapsulatesitasanindepen-
dentlycallable,dynamicallycomposable,andfinelygovernableservicemodule.Crucially, MaaScapitalizesonthedualityofmemory:whileinherentlyprivate,itcan—withina permission-awareframework—servepublic,cross-entityneeds.
Thispaperpursuesthreeobjectives.First,weformalizetheMaaSperspectiveandarticulate itsguidingprinciples.Second,weconstructatwo-dimensionaldesignspace—Entity Structure(intra-,inter-,andgroup-level)andServiceType(injectivevs.exchange-based)—to demonstratehowMaaSunifiesexistingintra-entitypracticesandscalesnaturallytocrossentityandgroup-levelcollaboration.Third,weoutlineanopenresearchagendaspanning governancemechanisms,securityprimitives,andethicalecosystems.Collectively,these contributionsinvitebothacademiaandindustrytoreimaginememorynotasanisolated artifactbutasaservice-orientedsubstrateforfuturecollaborativeintelligence.
2RelatedWorks
The”Memory-as-a-Service”(MaaS)paradigmismotivatedbytwostructurallimitations incurrentagentsystems:theisolationofindividualmemoriesandthetemporarinessof cross-entitymemorysharing.Thissectionreviewsrelevantstudiesanddemonstrateshow theycollectivelypointtowardatrendofservice-orientedmemorymodules.
2.1ThePersistenceofIntra-EntityMemory
Earlyagentswerelimitedtosingle-sessionmemory,lackingthecapacityforlong-term cognition.Toaddressthis,prevailingchatassistants(OpenAI, 2025; Google, 2025; Anthropic, 2025)introducedcentralizedmemorymanagement,enablingreuseofkeycontextacross interactions.However,suchmemoryremainsfundamentallyalocalstateattachedtoa specificuserwithinaproprietaryplatform.
Subsequenteffortsbegantoexternalizememoryfromtheagent,enablingdecoupledstorage andmanagement.Forinstance,MemGraph(MemgraphLtd., 2025)structuresmemoryinto retrievableknowledgegraphs;MemoryBank(Zhongetal., 2023)integratestheEbbinghaus forgettingcurvetoselectivelyretainlong-termmemories;MemGPT(Packeretal., 2024),AMEM(Xuetal., 2025),andMem0(Chhikaraetal., 2025)collectivelyadvancedtheconceptof anindependent”memorylayer”decoupledfromanysinglesessionortask.Otherresearch targetsspecializeddomains,suchasAgentWorkflowMemory(Wangetal., 2024),which capturesandreusesproceduralroutines.
Morerecentdevelopmentshaveemphasizedinteroperabilitywithinasingleuser’secosystem.WiththeintroductionoftheModelContextProtocol(MCP)(Anthropic, 2024),MCPbasedsystemssuchasOpenMemory(Mem0, 2025)—andothersystemslikeMemOS Lietal. (2025)—enablemultipleagentstoaccessandcontributetoaunifiedlong-termmemory.This evolutionhasledtoarobustfoundationforpersistentintra-entitymemory.
However,thedesignofthesesystemsenforcesstrictentity-boundpermissions.Asaresult, memorymodulesremainsiloedattheindividuallevel.Whencollaborationspansmultiple usersoragents,currentsystemsfallshortinsupportingtrustworthy,persistent,andcontextawarememorysharing.Atthesametime,FactoredAgents(Rothetal., 2025)demonstrate improvedrobustnessthroughmodularmemorydecouplingacrossagentcomponents. Meanwhile,SecondMe(Weietal., 2025)illustrateshowlifelongpersonalmemorycanserve interactivedigitaltwins—highlightingtheservicepotentialofmemoryoncereleasedfrom localconstraints.
2.2Cross-EntityMemorySharing
Inthedesignofmulti-entitycollaborativesystems,memorysharinghasalsoundergone anotableevolution.Initially,frameworkssuchasAutoGen(Wuetal., 2023)facilitated rudimentarycontextalignmentbetweenagentsthroughiterativemulti-turnconversations. Thisindirectalignmentstrategylaidthegroundworkformoredeliberatememorysharing mechanisms.
Amoredirectapproachemergedwith Gao&Zhang (2024),whoproposedstoringpromptanswerpairsfrommultipleagentsintoasharedmemorypoolaccessibleacrossentities. Thisenabledagentstodirectlyreadfromandcontributetoacommonmemoryspace, significantlyenhancingcoordination.ProtocolssuchasAgent2Agent(Google, 2024)further expandedthislineofworkbystructuringagentcommunicationandmemorysharingfor task-specificcollaboration.
Mostrecently,CollaborativeMemory(Rezazadehetal., 2025)investigatedcooperative memorysharinginsimulatedenvironmentsinvolvingmultipleusersandagents.Thisstudy highlightedboththetechnicalfeasibilityandbehavioralcomplexityofsharedmemoryin multi-agentcontexts.
Despitetheseadvances,acorelimitationpersists:sharedmemoryisstilltreatedasalocal stateboundtoaspecificcollaborativeenvironment.Whetherthesharingoccurswithin ataskoratightlyscopedinteractionsetting,thelifecycleandaccessibilityofmemory remainconfinedtoatemporaryunitofcollaboration.Thisdesigninherentlylimitsthe reusabilityofmemoryacrossenvironmentsandrestrictsfine-grainedpermissioncontrols acrossparticipants.
Asagentsbecomeembeddedinreal-worldhuman-agentnetworks,theirmemorysystemsmustsupportpersistent,globalcontinuityandcross-entityinteractiongovernedby granularaccesscontrol.Thismirrorshumanmemoryexchange—wherememoriesare selectivelyshareddependingonthecontext,relationship,andpurpose.Toaddressthese bottlenecksandenablemorenatural,generalizable,andgovernablememoryinteractions, weproposedecouplingcontextualmemoryfromitsboundstateandre-designingitasa service-orientedmodule.Thisserviceperspectiveallowsmemorytofunctionnotonlyas aninternalagentutilitybutasashared,modularinfrastructurethatcansupportcomplex, long-termcollaborationacrossdiverseentities.
3MaaS:AService-OrientedMemoryPerspective
TheMaaSperspectivepositionsmemoryasaservice-levelresourceincollaborativeagent systems.Beforedetailingtheframework,itisusefultorecallthetwomaincategoriesof memoryidentifiedbyrecentwork Duetal. (2025):(i) parametricmemory,embeddedin modelweightsandgenerallyfixed—moreakintobackgroundknowledgethandynamically updatedthroughinteraction;and(ii) contextualmemory,externalinformation—structuredor unstructured—directlylinkedtoaspecificentity’sexperience.ThecorepurposeoftheMaaS perspectiveistoexploreapaththattranscendsthecurrentlimitationofcontextualmemory asa”localstate”.Theremainderofthissectionsetsouttheprinciplesandarchitecturethat definetheMaaSparadigm.
3.1CorePrinciples:FromLocalStatetoCallableService
Inprevailingdesigns,memoryisboundtoaparticularentity,platform,ortask.MaaS releasesmemoryfromthisconfinementandreconstructsitasanindependentlymanaged service.Drawinginspirationfromservice-orientedarchitecture(SOA),eachmemorymodule isendowedwiththreeservice-orientedproperties,refinedforthedistinctivedemandsof agenticmemory:
IndependentAddressability. Everymemorymodulemustexposeanaddressableendpointsuchthat,subjecttopermissions,anauthorizedentitycanloadandinvokeitthrough standardizedprotocols.Memoryisthereforenolongeralocalstateboundtoanyspecific contextorentity.
ContextualComposability. Independentmemorymodulesshouldhavecharacteristics likemicroservicesorLegobricks,andcanbedynamicallyandflexiblycombinedaccording tothecontextoftheservicetoservemorecomplexandemergentcollaborativetasks.
Intent-AwareGovernability. Trustworthymemoryservicesrequiregovernancethatevaluatesnotonly who mayaccessamodulebutalso why.Authorizationdecisionsarethus dynamicandintent-sensitive,relyingonin-contextlearningduringroutingandonacomplementarypermissionsystemtopreventinappropriatedisclosure.
3.2TheMaaSArchitecture:GrantingPublicServiceCapabilitiestoPrivateMemory
TheMaaSperspectiveoffersastructuralsolutiontoafundamentaltension:memoryisinherentlyprivate,yetthedemandsofcollaborationnecessitateapublic-facingservicedimension. MaaSdoesnotseektoaltertheprivatenatureofmemory;instead,itoperationalizesthis dualitybyendowingmemorywithon-demand,governablepublicservicecapabilitieswhile rigorouslyrespectingitsprivatefoundations.
ThePrivateNatureofMemory. ThefoundationalpremiseoftheMaaSperspectiveisthe acknowledgmentandstrictsafeguardingofmemory’sprivatenature.Eachindependent memorymoduleistreatedasasovereign,privateasset.Thispositionistheoretically groundedintheconceptionofmemoryasaspecifictypeofdataasset—asdefinedbythe NIST,”anyentitythatiscomprisedofdatacanbeconsideredanasset”(NationalInstitute ofStandardsandTechnology, 2025).Consequently,ownership,control,andgovernanceare renderedasinseparableattributesofthememorymodule.Ownershipisexercisedthrough afine-grained,context-awarepermissioncontrolssystemthatgrantstheownerabsolute controloverdeterminingunderwhatcircumstances,towhom,andinwhatmannertheir assetismadeaccessible.
ThePublicServiceDimensionofMemory. Tosatisfytherequirementsofcross-entity collaboration,theMaaSperspectiveadvocatesfortheconstructionofastandardized,open publicserviceinfrastructure.Itspurposeisnottheindiscriminatedisclosureofmemorycontentbutrathertoprovideauniversalinteroperabilityframeworkthatdismantles”memory silos,”offeringallagentsaunifiedcommunicationprotocolandservicediscoverymechanism.Thisensuresthatinherentlyprivatememorymodules,onceauthorizedbytheir owners,cancirculateandbesharedacrossentityboundaries.Thesupportinginfrastructure isanalogoustoacity’spublicroadsystem:itsfunctionistofacilitatethesecureandefficient transferofprivatememoryacrossdistributedagents,withoutexposingordependingon theimplementationdetailsoftheunderlyingpathways.
Toconcretizethisdualisticarchitecture,weproposeahigh-levelconceptualimplementation centeredaroundthreecorecomponents.Giventheprivatenature,memorymodulescanbe encapsulatedwithin MemoryContainers.Thesecontainerspackagethedatawithitsaccess policymetadata,therebyembeddingthelogicforautonomous,fine-grainedgovernance directlyintotheassetitself.Astheembodimentofthepublicservicedimension,weposit anintelligent MemoryRoutingLayer.Thislayerisresponsibleforadjudicatingandrouting allservicerequeststotheappropriate MemoryContainer,predicatedonsemanticorgoalorientedanalysis.Thisselectionmechanismisanalogoustoexistingparadigms(Anthropic, 2024; Google, 2024; Rothetal., 2025),whereinanLLMdynamicallyselectsthemostsuitable toolbasedoncontext.Thelinchpinconnectingthesetwocomponentsisafine-grained permissioncontrolmechanism.Itnotonlyverifiestheinitialauthorizationoftherequester forcontainer-levelaccessbutalsodynamicallydeterminestheallowableintra-container contentaccessbasedonthecurrentcontext,requesteridentity,andpermissionlevels.
Insummary,theMaaSarchitecturedoesnotpositatrade-offbetweenthepublicandprivate dimensionsofmemory.Rather,itdelineateshowtoendowinherentlyprivatememory withon-demandpublicservicecapabilities.Itadvocatesforthefine-grained,governable circulationandsharingofprivate,securememoryassetsthroughapublic,openservice channel,layingthefoundationforacollaborativeintelligenceecosystemthatisbothvibrant andtrustworthy.
4MaaSDesignSpaceandApplicationScenarios
TosystematicallyexplaintheimplicationsoftheMaaS,thissectionconstructsadesign spacedefinedbytwodimensions: EntityStructure and ServiceType.Basedonthescope ofcollaboration,EntityStructureisdividedintothreelevels:intra-entity,inter-entity,and group-level.ServiceType,definedbythedirectionofmemoryflow,iscategorizedaseither injectiveorexchange-based.Aninjectiveserviceentailstheunidirectionalprovisionofan encapsulatedmemorymodulefromoneentitytoarecipient,governedbyexplicitpermissionsandprotocols.Conversely,anexchange-basedserviceestablishesamultidirectional, dynamicmechanismformutualmemoryaccessandnegotiationamongmultipleentities.
TheanalysisofthissectionwillconsistentlyrevolvearoundthecoredualityofMaaS: dismantling”memorysilos”throughastandardizedpublicchannelwhilesafeguarding privateassetsthroughdynamicpermissioning.TodemonstratethatMaaSrepresentsa naturalgeneralizationandevolutionofexistingwork,ouranalysiswillcommencewith theintra-entityscenario—thefocusofmuchcurrentresearch—andfromthisfoundation, illustratehowtheparadigmprovidesarchitecturalsupportformorecomplex,cross-entity collaboration.
4.1Intra-Entity
Attheintra-entitylevel,theprimaryobjectiveoftheMaaSperspectiveistoprovideaunified andgovernablememoryservicelayerforthemultipleagentsownedbyasingleuser.Most currentpracticesinAImemoryrepresentearlyexplorationsatthislevel,forwhichMaaS providesamorestructuredandextensiblearchitecturalperspective.
Takinginjectiveservicesasanexample,prevailingimplementations(e.g.,thelong-term memorymechanismsinconversationalassistantsorMCP-basedsystemslikeOpenMemory(Mem0, 2025))canbeviewedaspreliminaryattemptsatthistype.Thesesolutions establisha”publicmemorypool”accessibletoalloftheuser’sagents,enablingmemoryto transcendsessionandapplicationboundariesandtherebydeliveringacoherent,consistent userexperience.Whenauserpossessespersona-basedagentsconstructedfromdistinct memorymodules,exchange-basedservicesbecomenecessary.Atthelevelofpublicdelivery,MaaSprovidesasharednegotiationchannelforthesepersona-agents;Atthelevelof privatedelivery,itensuresthatthememoryofeachpersonaisencapsulatedwithinaseparate,protectedmodule,therebysupportingdeeperself-reflection.Forexample,userscan communicatewithagentsrepresentingdifferent”selves”(e.g.,theirprofessionalself(Jeon etal., 2025))toexchangecognition,gainingamultidimensionalunderstandingoftheirpast, present,andfuture.
Intheintra-entitycontext,memorycanalreadybesharedacrossdifferentscenariosand agents.However,theprivate-sidedeliveryaspectremainsunderdeveloped.Evenwithinan individual’sinternalecosystem,accessshouldbegovernedbyfine-grained,context-specific permissioncontrols.
4.2Inter-Entity
ThetruepotentialofMaaSasacollaborativeinfrastructuremanifestswhenitsapplication crossesindividualentityboundaries.Thecoreofdesignatthislevelliesinthesecureand efficientgovernanceofcross-entitymemorycirculation.
Forinjectiveservices,thecoreprincipleisoneentityauthorizingitsexperientialmodules forusebyanother.Tofacilitatepublicservicedelivery,theinfrastructuremustprovidea servicediscoveryandsubscriptionmechanism.Toensureprivacy,whatistransmittedis notarawdatacopybutaserviceinvocationcredentialwithadefinedduration,scope,and revocability.Thismodelcansupportvarioushigh-valueapplications,suchasaneliteanalyst encapsulatingtheirfinancialreportanalysismethodologyintoamoduleandauthorizing itsusebyothersviasubscription.Amoreprofoundexampleis”legacymemory,”wherea deceasedindividualcouldauthorizetheirstructured,posthumouslypreservedmemories toconstructa”digitalpersona”capableoflimitedinteraction,allowinglovedonesto
revisitsharedrecollectionsinanovelmanner(Morris&Brubaker, 2025).UndertheMaaS architecture,thisimpliesthatpermissionpoliciesmustbeembeddedwithinthe”Memory Container”itself,definingdynamic,revocableaccessrulesuponpackaging.
Exchange-basedservicesaremorecomplex,involvingmemorynegotiationamongmultiple partiestoachieveconsensus.Forpublicservicedelivery,MaaSmustprovideatemporary, neutral”trustedexecutionenvironment.”Toensureprivacy,agentsdonotdirectlyaccess theentiretyofmemoryfromanotherentity;instead,theyaccessrequisiteinformation withinspecificmemorymodulesasdictatedbycontextandpermissions.Forinstance,in cross-backgroundcommunication,usersfromdifferentprofessionaldomainscouldleverage theirrespectiveagentstouseeachother’smemoryasa”decoder,”enhancingmutualunderstanding.ThedesignrationaleofMaaSpositionsthe”MemoryRoutingLayer”toserve asthistrustedenvironment:agentsdonotinteractdirectlybutinsteadtemporarilyaccess targetMemoryContainersandperformcomputationsviatheroutinglayer.Concurrently, theverificationmechanismmustbemoreflexible,dynamicallyauthorizingpartialmemory accesstoprovisiontheservicebasedonthescenario.
4.3Group-Level
Atthescaleofanorganizationorcommunity,MaaSaimstobethecriticalinfrastructurefor constructingandevolvingacollectiveknowledgebaseandforsupportingitsinteraction withindividualmembers.
Forinjectiveservicesthatdistributenormativememoryfromgroup-levelentity,suchas anorganizationdisseminatinga”corporateITsupportmodule”toitsmembers,thecore designprincipleofMaaSisthearchitecturalseparationofpublicknowledgefromprivate experience.The”MemoryRoutingLayer”isresponsiblefordistributingandmanaging authoritativepublic”MemoryContainers”toensureuniformityofsourceandversion.In contrast,newexperiencesgeneratedfromauser’sinteractionwiththispublicmemory automaticallypopulateaprivate”MemoryContainer”belongingtothatindividual.Forthis modeltooperateeffectively,theMaaSarchitecturemustsupportanefficientsubscriptionupdatemechanismtoensureallmembersreceivetimelychangestotheauthoritative memory.
Whenconsideringinjectiveorexchange-basedservicesinitiatedbyindividualstoward thecollective,communitymembersco-constructanevolvingcollectivememory.The coreofthisprocessisagovernanceframeworkthatbalancespublicutilitywithprivate integrity.Forexample,inanopen-sourcemedicaldiagnosticscommunity,asharedagent couldcommunicatewithindividualmembersandfeednewconsensusfindingsorcase databackintoacollective”symptom-to-diagnosispathway”memoryrepository,thereby deepeningitscollectiveunderstandingforusebyallauthorizedentities.Theguiding designprincipleMaaSprovidesisthedeepembeddingofcommunitygovernanceprotocols intothe”MemoryRoutingLayer,”transformingitfromadatachannelintoanexecutor ofgovernancerulesthataudits,merges,andtracescontributions.Acriticalrequirement underthisarchitectureistheabilitytoclearlydistinguishandisolatepublicfromprivate knowledge,ensuringthattheiterationofcollectivememoryusesonlyauthorizedpublic contributionswhilestrictlyprotectinguserprivacyduringindividualinteractions.
Insummary,byconstructingadesignspacebasedonentitystructureandservicetype, wehavesystematicallydemonstratedthatMaaSisnotanisolatedconceptbutaunifying paradigmcapableofsubsumingexistingpracticesandnaturallyextendingtocomplex collaborativescenarios.Itprovesthatbyservice-orientedmemory,itispossibletounlock itscollaborativevaluewhilerespectingitsinherentlyprivatenature.Havingestablishedthe definitionandtheapplicationdomainoftheMaaS,transformingthisambitiousarchitectural visionintoasecure,trustworthy,andflourishingecosystemstillrequiresthecommunityto confrontandresolveaseriesofprofoundchallenges.
5OpenResearchAgenda
TheMaaSparadigmnotonlyprovidesanewexplanatoryperspectiveforthecurrent bottlenecksincollaborativeagentsbutalsoopensupavastnewcontinentforfuture research.Ratherthanlistingdisparatequestions,thissectionsystematicallyproposes threeprogressivelyadvancingresearchdirectionsderivedfromthecoredesignprinciplesof MaaS:thedualtreatmentofthememory’spublicandprivatedimensions,andthe”emergent ecosystem”thatarisestherefrom.
5.1ChallengesArisingfromPublic-Side:GovernanceandProtocols
ThecoreconceptofMaaSistoestablishpublicservicechannelsforinherentlyprivate memory.However,anypubliccirculationmustbepredicatedon”rulesofcirculation,” whichdirectlygivesrisetotheneedforin-depthresearchintogovernanceandprotocols. First,thecross-entitymemorysharingenvisionedbyMaaSdemandsanewpermissioning paradigmthatfarexceedscurrentaccesscontrol.Thisneedisalreadynascentinintra-entity, multi-roleinteractionscenariosbutbecomescriticallyimportantinthebroadercontextof inter-entitycollaboration.Acoreresearchdirection,therefore,isthedesignofapermission languageandcontrolsystemwithsufficientexpressivepower.Itmustbedynamicand multidimensional,capableofperformingfine-grained,real-timeauthorizationbasedon multiplefactorssuchastherequester’sidentity,thespecificservicecontext,intent,andtime constraints.Second,asetofopen,standardizedinteroperabilityprotocolsisindispensableto ensurethatagentsfromdifferentsourcescanunderstandandcollaboratewithoneanother. Thisinvolvesnotjusttheunificationofdataformatsbutalsomustcoverservicediscovery, registration,trustnegotiation,andexchangesemantics.Formulatingfoundationalstandards fortheworldofMaaS,analogoustoHTTP/HTMLinthewebworld,isaprerequisitefora flourishingecosystem.AlthoughthecurrentMCPandAgent2Agentprotocolsrepresent arudimentaryformofthisvision,theyprimarilyfocusoninteractionswithinorbetween AIagents.Fromtheperspectiveofmemory’spublicdimension,aprotocolthatsupports memorysharingacrossentities(especiallybetweenhumans)isessentialforrealizingMaaS.
5.2ChallengesArisingfromPrivacy-Side:SecurityandTrust
ThecornerstoneofMaaSissafeguardingthesovereigntyofeachmemorymoduleasa privateasset.Protectingtheseassetsandestablishingtrustwithinanopenservicenetwork constitutesthesecondcorechallenge.Ononehand,assetintegrityandprovenancearekey. Anopennetworkfacestheriskofmalicious”memorypollution”or”spuriousmemory injection”attacks.Amoreprofoundintrinsicproblemisthatanagentloadingexternal memorymayinherititsimplicitbiasesorerrors.Thus,acriticalresearchtopicishowto establishmechanismstoverifytheprovenanceandcontentintegrityofmemorymodules. Thisnecessitatesinvestigatingtechnicalpathsthatofferimmutabilityandauditability toachievereliabletraceabilityofmemoryoriginsandtransparentloggingofallaccess behaviorsthroughoutitslifecycle.Ontheotherhand,privacy-preservingcollaborationis crucial.Inexchange-basedservices,multiplepartiesoftenneedtoperformcollaborative computationstoreachaconsensuswithoutfullyexposingtheirrespectiveprivatememories. Thisopensupentirelynewapplicationscenariosforprivacy-preservingcomputation. Therefore,investigatingtheapplicationoftechnologiessuchashomomorphicencryption, securemulti-partycomputation,orzero-knowledgeproofstoMaaSscenarios—forinstance, migratingconceptsfromPersonalizedFederatedLearning(Khanetal., 2024)tothememory context—andexploringhowtoachieveefficientcollaborationundertheprincipleofbeing ”usablebutnotvisible”iscentraltobalancingprivacywithvalue.
5.3ChallengesfromInteractionEmergence:EcosystemandEthics
WhenMaaSsystemsachievewidespreadadoption,theinteractionofcountlessagentswill inevitablygiverisetonewsocio-economicformationsandprofoundethicalchallenges. Fromtheperspectiveofecosystemconstruction,new-generationeconomicmodelsdemand investigation.Whenhigh-qualitymemorymodulesaretreatedasvaluabledigitalassets,the
emergenceofa”memorymarket”becomesalogicalconsequence,aspeculationsharedby otherworks(Lietal., 2025).Thisdirectlyleadstoaseriesoffundamentaleconomicresearch questions:Howshouldmemory,anintangibleassetfilledwithsubjectiveexperience, bepricedandvalued?Howshoulditsintellectualpropertybedefinedandprotected? Researchingeconomicmodelssuitableforsuchmarkets—basedonprogrammablecontracts forsubscriptions,pay-per-call,orcontribution-baseddividends—isfoundationaltobuilding ahealthyecosystem.Simultaneously,deepethicaldilemmaswillemerge.Thecapabilities ofMaaSwilldirectlytouchuponthemostcomplexethicalterritory.Forexample,”digital legacy”raisesquestionslike,”Doesadeceasedpersonhavetherighttodefinethebehavioral boundariesoftheirdigitalpersona?”Theco-constructionofgroupmemory,meanwhile, mayintroducethesignificantriskof”collectivebiasesbecomingossifiedandamplified.” Therefore,designingalgorithmsandgovernancemechanismstodetect,flag,andmitigate biasesincollectivememory,andestablishingethicalnormsandlegalframeworksfor newformsofhuman-agentinteraction(suchasengagingwithadigitallegacy(Morris& Brubaker, 2025)),willbeacriticalandhighlychallengingagendarequiringthejointefforts ofcomputerscience,sociology,law,andethics.
6Conclusion:ATimelyPerspective
Asartificialintelligencebecomesincreasinglyintegratedintocollaborativenetworks,its memorydesignisevolvingfromanisolated,localstatetowardmoredynamicandinterconnectedforms.Thispaperhasanalyzedthelimitationsoftheprevailingparadigm,which treatsmemoryasaboundstate,insupportinglarge-scalecollaborativeintelligence.To addressthischallenge,thispaperhasproposedthe”MemoryasaService”(MaaS)design perspective.MaaSisnotanovelinventionbutratherasystematizationandtheoretical elevationofexistingexplorations,advocatingforthere-architectingofmemoryintomodularservicesthatcanbeindependentlyinvoked,composed,andgoverned.Thispaperhas elaboratedonthecoreprinciplesofMaaS,namelytheendowmentofinherentlyprivate memorywithon-demand,governablepublicservicecapabilitiesthroughadualarchitecture. Byconstructingatwo-dimensionaldesignspace,thispaperhasdemonstratedhowthis frameworkcanaccommodateandextendexistingmemorypracticestosupportmulti-level collaborativescenarios,fromtheintra-entitytothegrouplevel.Furthermore,thispaperhas putforwardaresearchagendaspanninggovernance,security,andethics,identifyingthe keyscientificandengineeringproblemsthatmustbesolvedtorealizeMaaS.Inconclusion, theparadigmshiftfrom”boundmemory”to”MemoryasaService”representsasignificant directionforthefuturedevelopmentofcollaborativeintelligence.TheMaaSframeworkproposedhereinprovidesaconceptualfoundationandananalyticaltoolkitforthisevolution. Althoughtheframeworkisstillinitspreliminaryconceptualstage,theresearchissuesit uncoversareofsignificantimportanceforfosteringamoreopen,efficient,andtrustworthy collaborativeintelligenceecosystem,warrantingdeeperexplorationbybothacademiaand industry.
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