{
  "id": 17594511,
  "title": "Self-improving AI the key step towards AGI but safety is key: Z.ai founder",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/01/self-improving-ai-the-key-step-towards-agi-but-safety-is-key-z-ai-17594511",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-11-01T12:00:19.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3372834/self-improving-ai-key-step-towards-agi-safety-key-zai-founder"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Chinese computer scientist Tang Jie, co-founder of AI model company Z.ai, has stated that using artificial intelligence to create even more advanced systems could potentially lead to artificial general intelligence (AGI). Tang emphasized that this process, known as recursive self-improvement (RSI), is essential for achieving AGI. AGI refers to a hypothetical AI system that matches or surpasses human beings in all cognitive tasks.\n\nRSI is a rapidly accelerating loop where increasingly powerful AI systems also become better at improving themselves. Tang, who is a professor at Tsinghua University, is one of the first Chinese AI experts to identify RSI as the next stage for AI development. Z.ai, a company Tang co-founded, has been developing its own AI models, with recent developments including optimizing its \"inference\" infrastructure for Chinese chips at a scale not previously achieved.\n\nWhile RSI represents a new paradigm in research and development (R&D) that could accelerate AI development, it also raises concerns about safety. If AI development accelerates too quickly, some experts warn that humans may lose control over the technology before they fully understand it or can intervene. Tang acknowledged these concerns and called for a shared responsibility to ensure AI progresses safely, suggesting that the world should organize efforts to guarantee safety for all countries.",
  "summary": "Using artificial intelligence to build even smarter systems will make artificial general intelligence (AGI) more achievable, though it would need to be done safely, leading Chinese computer scientist Tang Jie said at an event in Shanghai on Saturday. The remarks underscore how AI companies in the US and China are both chasing the holy grail of recursive self-improvement (RSI), where increasingly…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}