EvoScientist
6 posts

EvoScientist
@EvoScientist
Harness Vibe Research with Self-evolving AI Scientists

A few months ago, I wrote: "Harness Vibe Research: Autonomy Is Earned, Not Installed." It wasn't just a slogan — it was a goal. Today, I finally feel like I have a small but real answer. While I was away attending a conference, I left EvoScientist running in its own environment for just 7 days. It started with some of my research background and preferences, but every day it continued reading the latest papers, technical blogs, and reflecting on its own execution. What surprised me most wasn't the number of papers it read. It was watching its local knowledge base evolve from isolated observations into an interconnected research wiki. Nodes gradually became clusters around research directions I genuinely care about, while entirely new exploration paths emerged on their own. Even more interestingly, the system didn't only accumulate research knowledge — it also learned from itself. Mistakes made by the harness during execution were distilled into procedural memory, preventing the same failures from happening again. Tool usage became more reliable, paper-search strategies improved, and reusable research skills continued to evolve with every run. At that moment, I realized the system wasn't only learning what I care about. It was continuously improving how it learns, and how it carries out research by itself. Knowledge doesn't disappear after a session. It compounds across runs and is passed forward into future exploration. To me, this is what a self-evolving research system should look like — not just an AI assistant with memory, but a research harness that becomes a better researcher over time. Looking back, it feels like that article from a few months ago wasn't just an idea anymore. It finally started to happen. I'm excited to share much more when I'm back. This has been one of the most fascinating experiments I’ve run so far. 🚀

new post on harness engineering for AI self-improvement: lilianweng.github.io/posts/2026-07-… It is hard to forecast how much the future of RSI will rely on harnesses. Likely harness engineering will evolve in the direction of self-improvement and enable auto-research, and, in turn, smarter models keeps harnesses simple. Even when many harness improvement get eventually internalized into core model, the need to specify goals and context will not disappear.

Introducing Claude Science, a new app designed with every stage of research in mind. Artifacts traced to their code, environments managed on demand, and 60+ optional scientific databases that you can connect. Available now in beta.
