How to Break Into AI Research
Madisonkanna · x · 2026-07-15
This post discusses how to become an AI researcher in 2026.
It makes three core points:
- You don't necessarily need a PhD to start doing AI research.
- It's more important to learn by doing and build skills along the way, rather than relying solely on top-down planning.
- You need to cultivate intuition and creativity, accepting that you won't know absolutely everything.
The video/interview also touches on broader topics: research paths, how unique personal perspectives create a moat, open-source vs. closed-source model competition, post-training/fine-tuning/specialization, and AI's impact on job displacement and creation.
Related event: Parsed Co-Founder: No PhD Needed for AI Research(4 posts)→
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