Sakana AI launches Frontier Intelligence Group to pursue alternatives beyond the Transformer paradigm
SakanaAILabs · x · 2026-09-18
Sakana AI has introduced its Frontier Intelligence Group (FIG), a research team co-driven by CTO Llion Jones, co-inventor of the Transformer, that challenges the assumption that scaling Transformers leads all the way to AGI.
Key points:
- FIG argues intelligence is not "solved": current systems still hallucinate confidently, falter on genuinely novel situations, and consume far more energy than biological brains.
- Natural intelligence beats AI in data efficiency, energy efficiency, robust generalization, and self-directed open-ended exploration — gaps FIG treats as research targets.
- The group's existing work spans Continuous Thought Machines, predictive-coding-based learning, sparse Transformers, AI Picbreeder, and Smart Cellular Bricks, all exploring directions outside the mainstream paradigm.
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