It's not RSI: LLM gains are Recursive Technological Improvement, says new take
teortaxesTex · x · 2026-10-01
A conceptual correction is making the rounds: what AI circles call RSI (recursive self-improvement) is mislabeled. LLM-driven improvement isn't the model improving itself—it's diffuse gains across software systems, chips, fabs, and electrical hardware, which the author calls Recursive Technological Improvement (RTI), a term traced to Drexler.
Key points:
- LLMs improve the building blocks of AI; those gains seed the next round of improvement, forming a recursive loop
- Users already live inside a recursively improving system daily, but the locus of attention stays on the models themselves
- Observed model progress is largely downstream of the whole economic system being upgraded
The argument undercuts runaway-self-improvement narratives: the real acceleration sits in infrastructure and the economy, not in the weights.
Related event: RSI Should Be 'Recursive Technological Improvement', Not Self-Improvement(2 posts)→
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