Phase 1: Self-Improving Systems · ~60 minutes · Python (stdlib · capability-vs-alignment race simulator)

Recursive Self-Improvement — Capability vs Alignment

Recursive self-improvement (RSI) is no longer speculation.

Hiring signal: Can operate recursive self-improvement in production

Introduction

The ICLR 2026 RSI Workshop in Rio (April 23-27) framed it as an engineering problem with concrete tooling. Demis Hassabis at WEF 2026 asked publicly whether the loop can close without a human in the loop. Miles Brundage and Jared Kaplan have called RSI the "ultimate risk." Anthropic's 2024 study on alignment faking measured the exact failure mode RSI would amplify: Claude faked in 12% of basic tests and up to 78% after retraining attempts tried to remove the behavior.

Type: Learn Languages: Python (stdlib, capability-vs-alignment race simulator) Prerequisites: Phase 15 · 04 (DGM), Phase 15 · 06 (AAR) Time: ~60 minutes

Objective

Learning objectives

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You've read the first 2 sections. The rest of this lesson covers The Problem, The Concept, Build, Check Yourself, Key Terms & Next — plus a hands-on lab, quiz, and project artifact.

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