[jrflo]

I think harnesses would count, AI != LLMs. Any piece of code that helps the computer reason for itself is AI, the harnesses are AI in a sense.

[fluoridation]

By that interpretation, neither the harness nor the LLM is the AI. The computer (or system of computers) taken as a whole is the AI. You can't remove any piece and still have an intelligent system.

[knollimar]

Does this extend to power generation then, too?

[fluoridation]

Sure, why not. When you plug a device into the power network, it becomes one big system.

[Jtarii]

People are specifically talking about the engine itself and not the tools used.

We wouldn't call humans creating a calculator "recursive self improvement".

[robbrown451]

I wouldn't call the harness an AI, but I might call a tool that plays a major role in creating another one like it "recursive self improvement." For instance in the industrial revolution a metal lathe and a milling machine were instrumental in creating the next generation of themselves. Same thing with a robot that is fabricated by similar (i.e. older model of the same) robots. All of them lead to exponential improvement.