Tuned Harness Beats Newest Model: 9-Month-Old Model Wins by ~10 Points
VictorSanh · x · 2026-11-04
Victor Sanh (Martian) amplified an influential argument: stop waiting for the next model.
- AI engineers at vertical app companies often claim they need the next model release for a step-change, but the current model may already be good enough
- The team tuned an agent's harness around a model 9 months older than the latest one — it beat the newest model by almost 10 points
- Core thesis: most agents can do just as well with smaller, cheaper models if you tune the harness for that specific model
- Readers are invited to try harness tuning on their platform
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