This Startup Is All In on Recursive Self-Improvement. Its Latest Model Is Scary Good

Key points

• Startup Recursive has released Flint, an open-weight AI coding model that its chief executive Richard Socher says was largely developed by AI. Socher says the company's Eureka Machine automated most steps of the model's development, letting a small team build a model he claims outperforms similar-sized models on coding tasks.
• Socher says the system is overseen by humans who could stop the process. Some experts warn that self-improving AI could become dangerous, and several bills in Congress propose banning the approach.
• A reporter who tested Flint on a personal computer found it fast and capable at coding tasks.