Matej Jusup
@matejjusup.bsky.social
• A PhD in multi-agent reinforcement learning at ETH Zurich
• A chess enthusiast - 2585 Elo @Chesscom)
• Developed the first language model at Google DeepMind capable of playing the game at near super-human level (3200 Elo).
• A chess enthusiast - 2585 Elo @Chesscom)
• Developed the first language model at Google DeepMind capable of playing the game at near super-human level (3200 Elo).
Pinned
Matej Jusup
@matejjusup.bsky.social
· Dec 5
"𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗱𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵?”
I was fortunate to join the board games team at Google as a student researcher, where we proved that the answer is a resounding YES! ♟️🤯
deepmind.google/research/pub...
I was fortunate to join the board games team at Google as a student researcher, where we proved that the answer is a resounding YES! ♟️🤯
deepmind.google/research/pub...
1/N I’ve long believed that board games should play a bigger role in AI evaluation. They naturally test strategic reasoning, long-term planning, adaptation—and they can’t be solved by brute force or memorization.
Game Arena is transparent, replayable, and tests actual behavioral intelligence.
Game Arena is transparent, replayable, and tests actual behavioral intelligence.
📢 Introducing Kaggle Game Arena: a new, open benchmark platform where top AI models compete in complex, strategic games in streamed match-ups. We're charting new frontiers for trustworthy AI evaluation and it begins with chess — a classic proving ground for system intelligence.
August 5, 2025 at 6:45 PM
1/N I’ve long believed that board games should play a bigger role in AI evaluation. They naturally test strategic reasoning, long-term planning, adaptation—and they can’t be solved by brute force or memorization.
Game Arena is transparent, replayable, and tests actual behavioral intelligence.
Game Arena is transparent, replayable, and tests actual behavioral intelligence.
A year after our trip to AAMAS in New Zealand, @sharky6000.bsky.social came back for more!
I should have planned my year not to miss @aamasconf.bsky.social…
Big congrats and keep up amazing work! 🎉👏
I should have planned my year not to miss @aamasconf.bsky.social…
Big congrats and keep up amazing work! 🎉👏
May 23, 2025 at 10:52 PM
A year after our trip to AAMAS in New Zealand, @sharky6000.bsky.social came back for more!
I should have planned my year not to miss @aamasconf.bsky.social…
Big congrats and keep up amazing work! 🎉👏
I should have planned my year not to miss @aamasconf.bsky.social…
Big congrats and keep up amazing work! 🎉👏
Looking forward to speaking at the ML Pub Club on June 3rd!
I'll discuss how, during my time at DeepMind, we taught LLMs to play chess at a GM level and the broader implications for strategic AI.
If you're in Zagreb, join us at Mažuranićev trg 13 at 6 PM!
More info & RSVP: lu.ma/erjji5it
I'll discuss how, during my time at DeepMind, we taught LLMs to play chess at a GM level and the broader implications for strategic AI.
If you're in Zagreb, join us at Mažuranićev trg 13 at 6 PM!
More info & RSVP: lu.ma/erjji5it
ML Pub Club #22: Superhuman Planning with LLMs · Luma
What happens when a chess champion meets cutting-edge AI? Join us for an evening with Matej Jusup, as he unpacks how large language models (LLMs) can go from…
lu.ma
May 20, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Looking forward to speaking at the ML Pub Club on June 3rd!
I'll discuss how, during my time at DeepMind, we taught LLMs to play chess at a GM level and the broader implications for strategic AI.
If you're in Zagreb, join us at Mažuranićev trg 13 at 6 PM!
More info & RSVP: lu.ma/erjji5it
I'll discuss how, during my time at DeepMind, we taught LLMs to play chess at a GM level and the broader implications for strategic AI.
If you're in Zagreb, join us at Mažuranićev trg 13 at 6 PM!
More info & RSVP: lu.ma/erjji5it
A paper from my time at Google was accepted for a spotlight presentation at ICML!
In “Mastering Board Games by External and Internal Planning with Language Models”, we show how language models can achieve grandmaster-level play using a search budget on par with humans.
arxiv.org/abs/2412.12119
In “Mastering Board Games by External and Internal Planning with Language Models”, we show how language models can achieve grandmaster-level play using a search budget on par with humans.
arxiv.org/abs/2412.12119
Mastering Board Games by External and Internal Planning with Language Models
Advancing planning and reasoning capabilities of Large Language Models (LLMs) is one of the key prerequisites towards unlocking their potential for performing reliably in complex and impactful domains...
arxiv.org
May 1, 2025 at 8:35 PM
A paper from my time at Google was accepted for a spotlight presentation at ICML!
In “Mastering Board Games by External and Internal Planning with Language Models”, we show how language models can achieve grandmaster-level play using a search budget on par with humans.
arxiv.org/abs/2412.12119
In “Mastering Board Games by External and Internal Planning with Language Models”, we show how language models can achieve grandmaster-level play using a search budget on par with humans.
arxiv.org/abs/2412.12119
Reposted by Matej Jusup
Hive (and all of its expansions) has been added to OpenSpiel! 🎉🤩🐝🐜🕷️🐞🦟🪲
From Gen42: "Hive is an award-winning board game with a difference. There is no board. The pieces are added to the playing area thus creating the board. As more and more pieces are added the game becomes a fight to ...
🧵1/5
From Gen42: "Hive is an award-winning board game with a difference. There is no board. The pieces are added to the playing area thus creating the board. As more and more pieces are added the game becomes a fight to ...
🧵1/5
April 28, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Hive (and all of its expansions) has been added to OpenSpiel! 🎉🤩🐝🐜🕷️🐞🦟🪲
From Gen42: "Hive is an award-winning board game with a difference. There is no board. The pieces are added to the playing area thus creating the board. As more and more pieces are added the game becomes a fight to ...
🧵1/5
From Gen42: "Hive is an award-winning board game with a difference. There is no board. The pieces are added to the playing area thus creating the board. As more and more pieces are added the game becomes a fight to ...
🧵1/5
Reposted by Matej Jusup
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_Pe... An interview with Rich. The humility of Rich is truly inspiring: "There are no authorities in science". I wish people would listen and live by this.
TURING AWARD WINNER Richard S. Sutton in Conversation with Cam Linke | No Authorities in Science
YouTube video by Amii
www.youtube.com
March 6, 2025 at 8:50 PM
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_Pe... An interview with Rich. The humility of Rich is truly inspiring: "There are no authorities in science". I wish people would listen and live by this.
Reposted by Matej Jusup
Sim agents are key for developing autonomous systems for safety-critical systems, like self-driving cars.
We're open-sourcing sim agents that achieve a 99.8% success rate with < 0.8% failures on the Waymo Dataset. These agents are built through scaling self-play.
We're open-sourcing sim agents that achieve a 99.8% success rate with < 0.8% failures on the Waymo Dataset. These agents are built through scaling self-play.
February 28, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Sim agents are key for developing autonomous systems for safety-critical systems, like self-driving cars.
We're open-sourcing sim agents that achieve a 99.8% success rate with < 0.8% failures on the Waymo Dataset. These agents are built through scaling self-play.
We're open-sourcing sim agents that achieve a 99.8% success rate with < 0.8% failures on the Waymo Dataset. These agents are built through scaling self-play.
Reposted by Matej Jusup
We've released our lecture notes for the course Probabilistic AI at ETH Zurich, covering uncertainty in ML and its importance for sequential decision making. Thanks a lot to @jonhue.bsky.social for his amazing effort and to everyone who contributed! We hope this resource is useful to you!
I'm very excited to share notes on Probabilistic AI that I have been writing with @arkrause.bsky.social 🥳
arxiv.org/pdf/2502.05244
These notes aim to give a graduate-level introduction to probabilistic ML + sequential decision-making.
I'm super glad to be able to share them with all of you now!
arxiv.org/pdf/2502.05244
These notes aim to give a graduate-level introduction to probabilistic ML + sequential decision-making.
I'm super glad to be able to share them with all of you now!
February 17, 2025 at 7:20 AM
We've released our lecture notes for the course Probabilistic AI at ETH Zurich, covering uncertainty in ML and its importance for sequential decision making. Thanks a lot to @jonhue.bsky.social for his amazing effort and to everyone who contributed! We hope this resource is useful to you!
LLMs Mastering Board Games: ZurichNLP Meetup - Feb 20th!
Excited to share insights from my student research at Google DeepMind at the upcoming ZurichNLP meetup! I'll present how we achieved high-level play in board games using LLMs with a search budget comparable to human chess grandmasters.
Excited to share insights from my student research at Google DeepMind at the upcoming ZurichNLP meetup! I'll present how we achieved high-level play in board games using LLMs with a search budget comparable to human chess grandmasters.
February 14, 2025 at 5:07 PM
LLMs Mastering Board Games: ZurichNLP Meetup - Feb 20th!
Excited to share insights from my student research at Google DeepMind at the upcoming ZurichNLP meetup! I'll present how we achieved high-level play in board games using LLMs with a search budget comparable to human chess grandmasters.
Excited to share insights from my student research at Google DeepMind at the upcoming ZurichNLP meetup! I'll present how we achieved high-level play in board games using LLMs with a search budget comparable to human chess grandmasters.
Reposted by Matej Jusup
I've been talking about writing this paper to anyone who would listen since 2020. I bombed a bunch of job talks trying to convince companies to work on this. It's so nice to finally just be able to say, yes, self-play RL in a diverse world gives you immense capabilities
arxiv.org/abs/2502.03349
arxiv.org/abs/2502.03349
Robust Autonomy Emerges from Self-Play
Self-play has powered breakthroughs in two-player and multi-player games. Here we show that self-play is a surprisingly effective strategy in another domain. We show that robust and naturalistic drivi...
arxiv.org
February 9, 2025 at 8:01 PM
I've been talking about writing this paper to anyone who would listen since 2020. I bombed a bunch of job talks trying to convince companies to work on this. It's so nice to finally just be able to say, yes, self-play RL in a diverse world gives you immense capabilities
arxiv.org/abs/2502.03349
arxiv.org/abs/2502.03349
Reposted by Matej Jusup
I am more than happy that @quantamagazine.bsky.social , which I have been reading since the first year of my Bachelor's degree, cited us:
www.quantamagazine.org/chatbot-soft...
More news about this work and 2nd version is coming soon!
#machinelearning #deeplearning #cs #computerscience #tcs
www.quantamagazine.org/chatbot-soft...
More news about this work and 2nd version is coming soon!
#machinelearning #deeplearning #cs #computerscience #tcs
February 4, 2025 at 2:59 PM
I am more than happy that @quantamagazine.bsky.social , which I have been reading since the first year of my Bachelor's degree, cited us:
www.quantamagazine.org/chatbot-soft...
More news about this work and 2nd version is coming soon!
#machinelearning #deeplearning #cs #computerscience #tcs
www.quantamagazine.org/chatbot-soft...
More news about this work and 2nd version is coming soon!
#machinelearning #deeplearning #cs #computerscience #tcs
Reposted by Matej Jusup
Pet peeve: Calling something that’s not open source… open source. Open weight != open source
January 29, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Pet peeve: Calling something that’s not open source… open source. Open weight != open source
Reposted by Matej Jusup
A typical European car is parked 92% of the time. It spends 1/5th of its driving time looking for parking. Its 5 seats only move 1.5 people. 86% of its fuel never reaches the wheels, and most of the energy that does, moves the car, not the people.
Sound efficient?
HT @ellenmacarthurfdn.bsky.social
Sound efficient?
HT @ellenmacarthurfdn.bsky.social
January 25, 2025 at 6:21 AM
A typical European car is parked 92% of the time. It spends 1/5th of its driving time looking for parking. Its 5 seats only move 1.5 people. 86% of its fuel never reaches the wheels, and most of the energy that does, moves the car, not the people.
Sound efficient?
HT @ellenmacarthurfdn.bsky.social
Sound efficient?
HT @ellenmacarthurfdn.bsky.social
An interesting idea that’s worth keeping an eye on!
Designing the review process to check claims made by the authors can serve to regularize against overclaiming. Got a bigger claim? Need more evidence to back it up. I love how the ML community is willing to experiment to improve the scientific process and this iteration at RLC is no exception.
We just released extensive instructions for all the reviewing roles at @rl-conference.bsky.social; ranging from SAC to TR. We are trying something different here that we believe can be better.
To ensure we are open about it, we made those instructions public:
rl-conference.cc/reviewinstru...
To ensure we are open about it, we made those instructions public:
rl-conference.cc/reviewinstru...
January 26, 2025 at 9:24 PM
An interesting idea that’s worth keeping an eye on!
Reposted by Matej Jusup
Demis Hassabis, James Manyika, and I wrote up an overview of the AI research work & advances across Google in 2024 (Gemini, NotebookLM, robotics, ML for science, & advances in responsible AI+more). 🎊
Given it a read or paste it into NotebookLM to listen, if you prefer!
blog.google/technology/a...
Given it a read or paste it into NotebookLM to listen, if you prefer!
blog.google/technology/a...
2024: A year of extraordinary progress and advancement in AI
As we move into 2025, we’re looking back at the astonishing progress in AI in 2024.
blog.google
January 24, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Demis Hassabis, James Manyika, and I wrote up an overview of the AI research work & advances across Google in 2024 (Gemini, NotebookLM, robotics, ML for science, & advances in responsible AI+more). 🎊
Given it a read or paste it into NotebookLM to listen, if you prefer!
blog.google/technology/a...
Given it a read or paste it into NotebookLM to listen, if you prefer!
blog.google/technology/a...
Reposted by Matej Jusup
Check out the 16th Workshop on Optimization and Learning in Multiagent Systems (OptLearnMAS-25) at #AAMAS 2025!
Topics: distributed opt., coalition formation, opt. under uncertainty, winner determination algs in auctions and procurements, algs to compute equilibria in games.
optlearnmas.github.io
Topics: distributed opt., coalition formation, opt. under uncertainty, winner determination algs in auctions and procurements, algs to compute equilibria in games.
optlearnmas.github.io
January 20, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Check out the 16th Workshop on Optimization and Learning in Multiagent Systems (OptLearnMAS-25) at #AAMAS 2025!
Topics: distributed opt., coalition formation, opt. under uncertainty, winner determination algs in auctions and procurements, algs to compute equilibria in games.
optlearnmas.github.io
Topics: distributed opt., coalition formation, opt. under uncertainty, winner determination algs in auctions and procurements, algs to compute equilibria in games.
optlearnmas.github.io
Reposted by Matej Jusup
In December, I posted about our new paper on mastering board games using internal + external planning. 👇
Here's a talk now on Youtube about it given by my awesome colleague John Schultz!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyxE...
Here's a talk now on Youtube about it given by my awesome colleague John Schultz!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyxE...
January 17, 2025 at 5:26 PM
In December, I posted about our new paper on mastering board games using internal + external planning. 👇
Here's a talk now on Youtube about it given by my awesome colleague John Schultz!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyxE...
Here's a talk now on Youtube about it given by my awesome colleague John Schultz!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyxE...
John's talk is now available online!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyxE...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyxE...
January 17, 2025 at 3:27 PM
John's talk is now available online!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyxE...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyxE...
Join John's talk to get insights on our paper on mastering board games with language models!
January 13, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Join John's talk to get insights on our paper on mastering board games with language models!
Reposted by Matej Jusup
Just a reminder that the AAMAS Doctoral Consortium deadline is next Friday!
Please consider submitting to this great venue or telling your students about it.
👇
Please consider submitting to this great venue or telling your students about it.
👇
As a PhD student, would you like the opportunity to interact closely with established researchers and other students, receive feedback on your work, and get advice on managing your career?
Check out the Doctoral Consortium at #AAMAS 2025! Deadline: Jan 17th.
aamas2025.org/index.php/co...
Check out the Doctoral Consortium at #AAMAS 2025! Deadline: Jan 17th.
aamas2025.org/index.php/co...
Call for Contributions to the Doctoral Consortium – AAMAS 2025 Detroit
aamas2025.org
January 10, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Just a reminder that the AAMAS Doctoral Consortium deadline is next Friday!
Please consider submitting to this great venue or telling your students about it.
👇
Please consider submitting to this great venue or telling your students about it.
👇
After 15 years away from competitive chess, I forgot how much thrill and excitement the game gives! ♟️ I decided to attend a tournament with five grandmasters and numerous international, fide, and candidate masters.
@lichess.org broadcast: lichess.org/broadcast/29...
@lichess.org broadcast: lichess.org/broadcast/29...
January 3, 2025 at 9:16 PM
After 15 years away from competitive chess, I forgot how much thrill and excitement the game gives! ♟️ I decided to attend a tournament with five grandmasters and numerous international, fide, and candidate masters.
@lichess.org broadcast: lichess.org/broadcast/29...
@lichess.org broadcast: lichess.org/broadcast/29...
Reposted by Matej Jusup
If you are into ML theory (RL or not) with a proven track record, and you are interested in an industry research position, PM me. Feel free to spread the word.
December 19, 2024 at 12:55 AM
If you are into ML theory (RL or not) with a proven track record, and you are interested in an industry research position, PM me. Feel free to spread the word.
After a slight delay, it is now also out on arXiv: arxiv.org/abs/2412.12119
December 18, 2024 at 12:50 PM
After a slight delay, it is now also out on arXiv: arxiv.org/abs/2412.12119
I will remember @neuripsconf.bsky.social 2024 as a defining moment in my career. Grateful to mentors & colleagues at @ethzurich.bsky.social and @deepmind.google.web.brid.gy for making it possible. Meeting enthusiastic researchers and having insightful, constructive discussions was truly inspiring!
December 16, 2024 at 10:21 PM
I will remember @neuripsconf.bsky.social 2024 as a defining moment in my career. Grateful to mentors & colleagues at @ethzurich.bsky.social and @deepmind.google.web.brid.gy for making it possible. Meeting enthusiastic researchers and having insightful, constructive discussions was truly inspiring!
Don’t miss this talk by @sharky6000.bsky.social if you want to turn LLMs into interactive, gamified chatbots!
Will you still be at #NeurIPS @neuripsconf.bsky.social on Saturday, Dec 14th?
Check out the Language Gamification Workshop: language-gamification.github.io
Program looks 👍👍👍
I will be presenting our work on training LMs to play board games using search at 9:10 - 9:50am. ♟️✨
Check out the Language Gamification Workshop: language-gamification.github.io
Program looks 👍👍👍
I will be presenting our work on training LMs to play board games using search at 9:10 - 9:50am. ♟️✨
December 12, 2024 at 3:52 PM
Don’t miss this talk by @sharky6000.bsky.social if you want to turn LLMs into interactive, gamified chatbots!