Richard Sutton: brute-force compute alone won't yield intelligence, AI science far from done
sloppenheimer · x · 2026-11-08
Richard Sutton, Turing Award winner and author of "The Bitter Lesson," publicly stated: "Brute force computation is not enough for intelligence. Clever new methods are needed. The science of AI is far from finished."
The remark pushes back against the scaling-is-everything narrative — not denying compute's historical role, but arguing that methodological research remains essential. Several AI-community figures amplified the statement as a notable counterpoint amid the compute arms race.
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