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EPISODE · Oct 26, 2026 · 23 MIN

AI Improves at Self-improving

from AI Explained · host AI Explained

AlphaEvolve is not the first system to exhibit self-improvement, but it may be the most impressive yet. AI is literally improving the hardware, architectures, data and training methods of AI itself. A deep dive into the paper, drawing on two previous interviews and 5 other papers. Plus a snippet on OpenAI’s new Codex system.Gray Swan: http://app.grayswan.ai/ai-explainedAI Insiders ($9!): https://www.patreon.com/AIExplainedChapters:00:00 - Introduction00:27 - AlphaEvolve05:23 - Limitation06:10 - Achievements08:21 - Future Improvements13:30 - Quirks16:34 - Final ThoughtsAlphaEvolve release: https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/alphaevolve-a-gemini-powered-coding-agent-for-designing-advanced-algorithms/Paper: https://storage.googleapis.com/deepmind-media/DeepMind.com/Blog/alphaevolve-a-gemini-powered-coding-agent-for-designing-advanced-algorithms/AlphaEvolve.pdfTerence Tao Quote: https://mathstodon.xyz/@tao/114508029896631083Nature Article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05172-4MIT Article: https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/14/1116438/google-deepminds-new-ai-uses-large-language-models-to-crack-real-world-problems/AI Co-Scientist: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2502.18864OpenAI Codex: https://openai.com/index/introducing-codex/70% of Pull Requests: https://x.com/slow_developer/status/1920920456393028027Amodei Essay: https://www.darioamodei.com/essay/machines-of-loving-graceOpenAI Jason Wei Tweet: https://x.com/_jasonwei/status/1923091260354531612PromptBreeder: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2309.16797DrEureka: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2406.01967FT DeepMind: https://www.ft.com/content/4e497a91-670a-4f69-be4a-18e247daba3eNon-hype Newsletter: https://signaltonoise.beehiiv.com/Podcast: https://aiexplainedopodcast.buzzsprout.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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AI Improves at Self-improving

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