Researchers clash over whether AI research is truly '99% automated'
binarybits · x · 2026-08-18
Timothy Lee (@binarybits) and @ketanrama debate whether AI research can be fully automated. Lee analogizes party planning: strategic decisions (who to invite) differ from execution (sending and tracking individual emails), and AI research mixes both. He questions the confidence that top researchers' labor — like Sholto's — can be totally automated, arguing current human-vs-AI labor shares don't support it.
Related event: Researchers Debate Full Automation of AI Research and RSI Threshold Myths(10 posts)→
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