RSI is a spectrum, not a switch: from self-hosting C compilers to coding agents
ZeeshanZiaML · x · 2026-09-12
- Zeeshan Zia responds to Robin Hanson's skepticism about imminent recursive self-improvement (RSI), arguing RSI is a spectrum, not a binary event.
- Writing a C compiler in C instead of Assembly was already RSI — humans just occupied a larger share of the loop.
- Coding agents are the next step, further shrinking human contribution to each iteration.
- But humans won't be removed entirely soon: large-scale training still needs energy, compute infrastructure, and manual data curation.
- Conclusion: acceleration toward the end state is real, but full human removal is not imminent. Hanson's original post questioned why RSI's imminence has become an article of faith.
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