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MTS · October 11 · 26 min

AI R&D Is Approaching an Explosive Feedback Loop | Tom Davidson

Forethought Senior Research Fellow Tom Davidson discusses P Zero Research's "Tasteval" benchmark, which shows AI systems doubling in research taste every three months. The conversation explores recursive self-improvement (RSI), distinguishing fast takeoff "foom" scenarios from "fizzle" dynamics, and examining how AI R&D automation impact lab progress and national security. Check out our sponsor Lovable: https://lovable.dev. Turn ideas into software people love. MTS is a live news and interview show covering technology, business, politics, and culture as it happens. Follow MTS: X | ⁠https://twitter.com/MTSlive⁠ YouTube | ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@mtsituation⁠ Spotify | ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/4HUNNmV1pjV7CW6Lphm1rM⁠ Apple | ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mts/id1891088763⁠ Substack | ⁠https://mtslive.substack.com/⁠ Interested in sponsoring the show? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sponsors@mts.now⁠⁠ -- Brought to you by: Mongo DB - Anyone can prototype an agent. Learn how to get them into production on September 30th in New York - register at https://www.mongodb.com/events/mongodb-local/nyc Lovable - Turn ideas into software people love with Lovable. Start today at https://lovable.dev/ Larridin - Finally prove what your AI investment is worth. Head to https://larridin.com/ today to start measuring your AI’s bottom line. Neon (by Databricks) - Get up to $100K in credits for your startup at ⁠https://neon.com/mts⁠ ElevenLabs - AI that communicates at human level across every channel and modality. https://elevenlabs.io/mts Arena - Measuring AI performance in the real world. ⁠https://arena.ai/⁠ Kong - The AI connectivity platform. Connect APIs, LLMs, agents, and systems with serious security and governance. https://konghq.com Today’s stream is sponsored by VCX, the public ticker for private tech. Head over to http://getvcx.com to learn more Blitzy - Autonomous software development for enterprise codebases. Ship 5x faster. https://blitzy.com AdQuick - Make your brand a billboard. Out-of-home advertising as easy to scale as digital. https://adquick.com Chargebee - Billing and monetization infrastructure for the AI era. https://www.chargebee.com/ -- Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction (00:50) AI Research Taste Benchmarks (06:59) Automating AI Research Workflows (08:52) Research Variety vs Mode Collapse (10:32) Impact on Researcher Compensation (11:48) RSI vs FOOM Dynamics (20:51) Political and National Security Responses -- Note: This podcast is not investment, legal, or tax advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies and securities discussed; do your own research before acting on anything you hear.

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Forethought Senior Research Fellow Tom Davidson discusses P Zero Research's "Tasteval" benchmark, which shows AI systems doubling in research taste every three months. The conversation explores recursive self-improvement (RSI), distinguishing fast takeoff "foom" scenarios from "fizzle" dynamics, and examining how AI R&D automation impact lab progress and national security. Check out our sponsor Lovable: https://lovable.dev. Turn ideas into software people love.




MTS is a live news and interview show covering technology, business, politics, and culture as it happens.


Follow MTS: 

X | ⁠https://twitter.com/MTSlive⁠

YouTube | ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@mtsituation⁠

Spotify | ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/4HUNNmV1pjV7CW6Lphm1rM⁠ 

Apple | ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mts/id1891088763⁠ 

Substack | ⁠https://mtslive.substack.com/⁠

Interested in sponsoring the show? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠sponsors@mts.now⁠⁠

--

Brought to you by:

Mongo DB - Anyone can prototype an agent. Learn how to get them into production on September 30th in New York - register at https://www.mongodb.com/events/mongodb-local/nyc

Lovable - Turn ideas into software people love with Lovable. Start today at https://lovable.dev/

Larridin - Finally prove what your AI investment is worth. Head to https://larridin.com/ today to start measuring your AI’s bottom line.

Neon (by Databricks) - Get up to $100K in credits for your startup at ⁠https://neon.com/mts⁠

ElevenLabs -  AI that communicates at human level across every channel and modality. https://elevenlabs.io/mts

Arena - Measuring AI performance in the real world. ⁠https://arena.ai/⁠

Kong - The AI connectivity platform. Connect APIs, LLMs, agents, and systems with serious security and governance. https://konghq.com

Today’s stream is sponsored by VCX, the public ticker for private tech. Head over to http://getvcx.com  to learn more

Blitzy - Autonomous software development for enterprise codebases. Ship 5x faster. https://blitzy.com

AdQuick - Make your brand a billboard. Out-of-home advertising as easy to scale as digital. https://adquick.com

Chargebee - Billing and monetization infrastructure for the AI era. https://www.chargebee.com/

--

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(00:50) AI Research Taste Benchmarks

(06:59) Automating AI Research Workflows

(08:52) Research Variety vs Mode Collapse

(10:32) Impact on Researcher Compensation

(11:48) RSI vs FOOM Dynamics

(20:51) Political and National Security Responses

--

Note: This podcast is not investment, legal, or tax advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. Hosts and guests may hold positions in the companies and securities discussed; do your own research before acting on anything you hear.


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