Test-time communication emerges as next scaling axis as compute shifts from pretraining
DimitrisPapail · x · 2026-09-21
Sarah Hooker amplifies a new paper by Dimitris Papail et al. arguing compute is shifting from pretraining—where FLOPs yield diminishing returns—to test-time compute, requiring fundamentally different infrastructure; the first wave of agent-designed infra is arriving.
The paper asks when communicating agent teams beat independent agents (Team-of-N vs Best-of-N). N identical agents with no prescribed roles, collaborating only via a shared text log, substantially outperformed independent agents across three research-style tasks. The authors position test-time communication as a next axis for scaling capabilities.
Related event: Test-Time Communication: Team-of-5 Agents Matches Best-of-33(25 posts)→
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