preprint · 2026-09-10
The Last AI Built by Humans: Toward Genuine Recursive Self-Improvement
Yi Duan, Ying Liu, Zirui Tang, Haodong Chen, Jun Zhou, Yumou Liu, Bangrui Xu, Yukai Wu, Sidi Chen, Yuhan Zhou, Haoyu Wang, Xiaoyou Yu, Shaokun Han, Xuzhou Zhu, Le Zhou, Bolin Lu, Wei Zhou, Jiachen Liu, Nuozhou Fang, Jiaxin Tian, Ruoyu Chen, Yuxuan Li, Kai Zuo, Kaiyan Zhang, Jiantao Qiu, Conghui He, Guoliang Li, Bowen Zhou, Zhiyuan Liu, Zhoufutu Wen, Jihua Kang, Xuanhe Zhou, Fan Wu
Why it matters here
An autonomy-centered taxonomy of which improvement decisions an AI controls, what persists, and what remains externally governed.
Research autonomyRecursive improvement evidence
What to keep in mind
- Historical supplied v1 snapshot. The public index lists v3 on September 22; this record preserves the supplied version rather than silently applying later revisions.
- A survey classification is not independent replication of its cited systems.