p337
If you mean manually, that's still interesting, but that kind of feels like the same thing to me. The idea is - don't let the agent burn context writing tools, it should just use them. Isn't that exactly what yours is doing? Instead of rewinding to a snapshot, I have a separate code base for it. As tools get more complex, it seems nice to have them well-tested with standardized input and output. Generating tools on the fly, rewinding, and using tools is just the same thing. You even would need to provide some context that says what the tool is and how to use it, which is basically what the mcp server is doing.
Also, once you give it this general access, it opens up essentially infinite directions for the model to go to. Repeatability and testing become very difficult in that situation. One time it may write a bash script to solve the problem. The next, it may want to use python, pip install a few libraries to solve that same problem. Yes, both are valid, but if you desire a particular flow, you need to create a prompt for it that you'll hope it'll comply with. It's about shifting certain decisions away from the model so that it can have more room for the stuff you need it to do while ensuring that performance is somewhat consistent.
For now, managing the context window still matters, even if you don't care about efficient token usage. So burning 5-10% on re-writing the same API calls makes the model dumber.
I'm not really trying to get into the political part of it fwiw.
I set up an MCP tool to use gpt-5 with high reasoning with Claude Code (like tools with "personas" like architect, security reviewer, etc), and I feel that it SIGNIFICANTLY amplifies the performance of Claude alone. I don't see other people using LLMs as tools in these environments, and it's making me wonder if I'm either missing something or somehow ahead of the curve.
Basically instead of "do x (with details)" I say "ask the architect tool for how you should implement X" and it gets into this back and forth that's more productive because it's forcing some "introspection" on the plan.
It's lame to come on here and act like people reporting this are acting in bad faith. I asked for permission to talk about it and was granted it, so I don't see why the author of this post shouldn't be able to do the same considering he doesn't even get into the search indexing aspect. The company is in a vulnerable state due to negligence in addressing the issue, not because it was publicly disclosed.
Let's imagine OpenAI was a Russian company operating mostly in secret. This RU OpenAI secretly discover and use GPT-4-like technology, and show promise that they are not done innovating. While these LLMs are often overhyped, these recent innovations no doubt present a policy issue, right? I'd say there are legitimate national security reasons to know about that technology, not just about making money or making a better product for cheap.
The distinction being made is that the NSA may steal data related to this, but they aren't just giving it to Google to make Bard better. They are getting intel and giving lawmakers the tools to fund research, write policy, or whatever else our elected representatives deem beneficial. Any side action or under the table dealings would make this distinction meaningless of course. So, for the example above, if we started funding departments to research the threat of LLMs/AI, inform the public of the issue, and inform companies that their data is being pillaged to train AI... that is all very different from just stealing a cool new widget design and getting it to market first.
I think there's no debating that this is morally gray, but I think it's a few steps off of what other nation states are doing by stealing tech and implementing it in "private" companies. It's certainly worthy of criticism, but I think it's unhelpful to bucket it with the other type.
If the LLM example isn't your thing, it also makes a lot of sense for the NSA to steal information related to weapon/defense tech, even if developed by a private company, and even if we use what we stole to implement countermeasures. I can't honestly be morally outraged about invading the privacy of someone developing tools of war against you. Fwiw, I wouldn't blame Russia or China for trying this against the US gov or defense contractors either, but it's not like I'd be happy about it. My point is that that is not so much economic espionage or corporate espionage as much as it is just plain old espionage. It saves lives and protects American hegemony - which I recognize may be counter to many people's ideal situation.
It's a nuanced thing. When you take two morally questionable things and reduce them down to both just being bad, the ones doing the worse things benefit. E.g. "all politicians lie" is a handy phrase for truly corrupt politicians because the ones who make small mistakes or half-truths are in the same bucket as them, and the outcome is apathy for the issue rather than being upset at all of it. Kinda the classic whataboutism trope - not to imply you are doing that, but just to say that's where it often leads.