Ofir Press: rewriting ffmpeg or sqlite 5x faster with 2x less memory as an AI benchmark
OfirPress · x · 2026-10-07
Researcher Ofir Press discussed with Dimitris Papail where the next real AI breakthrough might come from. He believes the true answer won't just be "speeding up an existing thing," but sees one measurable precursor: using AI to rewrite something like ffmpeg or sqlite to run 5x faster with 2x less memory.
He says he's spending a lot of time thinking about this without good answers yet — the non-speedup directions are more interesting, but much harder to predict right now.
Related event: Researchers Debate Why AI Cracks Math First, Not Software Engineering(4 posts)→
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