a16z Podcast · 3 min instead of 32 min · Oct 12, 2026
RSI means the improver is the thing being improved
DA
Dhaval Adjodah
Erik TorenbergHost · General partner, Andreessen Horowitz
Helped build Product Hunt; founded On Deck, Village Global and Turpentine.
About this segment
They explain why a closed loop differs from human-run autocatalysis, using capability growth as performance over cost. Making the numerator track capability yields constant improvement, not automatic takeoff.
From “Recursive Self-Improvement and the Future of AI”, Oct 12, 2026. Watch the full episode
“if you have a system where the improvee, the things being improved, is also the thing that's doing the improvement, you now have a new way to think about it.”
Takeaways
- A gap in the loop means humans must keep pouring in resources
- Capability growth is performance divided by cost or difficulty
- If performance tracks capability, you get constant improvement
In this episode
Full episode4:08RSI means the improver is the thing being improved3:00
- 25:29Proving RSI gains requires hunting noise and reward hacking1:44Up next