Toby Ord: AI's gamma coefficient may skew key RSI parameter estimates
tobyordoxford · x · 2026-10-09
Oxford researcher Toby Ord highlights an implication for recursive self-improvement (RSI) analysis: if γ < 1 — meaning AIs scale worse with more tokens than humans do with more time — that affects attempts to estimate the key parameter r. He cautions these estimates carry large uncertainty, drawn from a single experiment and relying on time-horizon as the human measure, a famously tricky construct, and calls for more experiments estimating γ.
Related event: Oxford's Toby Ord Estimates AI Capability Scaling Factor γ at 0.66(3 posts)→
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