Thread

1. sailingparrot · 1790095545 · focus · HN ↗

   > Claude Opus 5.5 is our first release since we called for pacing the frontier.

   Interesting how the very first line is used to remind the reader of their call to pace the frontier just last week, and everything else after that line is to demonstrate with very specific numbers how they absolutely are not pacing.

   1. mukmuk · 1790096500 · focus · HN ↗

      “Pacing the frontier” sounds smarmy and weird, like the phrase was generated by Claude itself

      1. DiggyJohnson · 1790096900 · focus · HN ↗

         I really don't think it's productive for internet forums to constantly be criticizing language choice when the meaning is clear. Better to respond to the substance of the issue than word choice.

         Edit: In response to the initial replies. To me it clearly means "releasing frontier models at any pace less than as fast as possible". It implies relative restraint compared to the previous state and without stating the degree of restraint.

         1. rob74 · 1790152207 · focus · HN ↗

            Maybe it's clear to native speakers, but both "pacing" and "frontier" have multiple meanings. "Pace" as a verb means literally just walking, as a noun it's the speed at which something progresses. So I'm not sure that everyone reading this phrase will immediately realize that "pace" actually means slowing down the pace of development (having "slow" in the phrase would have probably sounded too negative). Also, it's not immediately intuitive that "frontier" refers to frontier AI models.

            Actually, when I first read "pacing the frontier", the first thing that came to my mind was a border guard patrolling a border by foot...

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