Why we need a narrower definition of recursive self-improvement, distinct from AI-accelerated R&D

SanjushDalmia_ · x · 2026-09-17

The author argues that terms like "artificial superintelligence (ASI)" and "recursive self-improvement (RSI)" risk becoming as diluted as other AI buzzwords.

He sees value in a narrower sense of RSI: one that distinguishes an AI spontaneously modifying its own weights or achieving software progress to improve its own capabilities, from the AI-accelerated R&D we already see today — which is human-directed efficiency gains rather than genuine recursive self-improvement.

Related event: Timothy B. Lee Questions AGI and Recursive Self-Improvement as Discontinuous Events(8 posts)→

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