Karpathy's $0.35 AI vs. Your Benefits Broker's 20 Hours

Andrej Karpathy just released AutoResearch — a 630-line Python tool that lets AI agents run hundreds of experiments overnight on a 35-cent GPU rental. In one test, 35 autonomous agents completed 333 experiments while everyone slept and found 20 improvements that worked. No humans involved.Meanwhile, your benefits broker spends maybe 20 hours on your entire annual renewal — most of it pulling quotes and formatting spreadsheets — to manage a budget that consumes 25-40% of your total payroll.In this episode I break down what autonomous research actually is, why the analytical pattern applies directly to healthcare data and benefits design, and three specific questions every employer should be asking their broker at renewal. I also cover the three failure modes of AI research identified by economist Joshua Gans and how Karpathy's system addresses each one.The benefits consulting industry is about to have its spreadsheet moment. The tools exist, the data exists, the pattern is proven. The only question is whether you'll be the one using it or the one disrupted by someone who does.Full sources and the deep dive: danmccoymd.substack.comAlso checkout my YouTube Channel.