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AI researchers debate how close we are to recursive self-improvement

2026-09-11 | original
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Why This Matters

A new Dwarkesh Patel podcast gathers frontier AI researchers — John Schulman, Beren Millidge and Charlie O'Neill — to debate how near the field is to recursive self-improvement, where AI systems accelerate their own progress. Because these researchers work at leading labs, their firsthand read on timelines matters for anyone trying to separate hype from what's actually happening at the frontier. The episode notably includes a steelman of the case against RSI, a useful counterweight to fast-takeoff narratives.

Key Takeaways
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New episode with John Schulman, Beren Millidge and Charlie O’Neill.

I got together with some of the most insightful AI researchers I know who are at the openish companies, because I wanted to hear the details of what's actually happening at the frontier and what comes next.

Watch on YouTube; listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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Timestamps

(00:00:00) – Steelmanning the case against RSI

(00:18:39) – What’s driving the Chinese labs’ progress

... continue reading

Explore topics: john schulman beren millidge recursive self-improvement jane street grok bot
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