Julian Togelius
@togelius.bsky.social
AI and Games Researcher at NYU. Head of AI at Nof1.
Pinned
Julian Togelius
@togelius.bsky.social
· Nov 25
Lots of new followers. Maybe it's time to do a quick intro post (can't remember if I did one in the past).
I work on AI for games, games for AI, open-ended learning, and AI applications in various fields. I also often have opinions on various things, many but not all of them related to AI.
I work on AI for games, games for AI, open-ended learning, and AI applications in various fields. I also often have opinions on various things, many but not all of them related to AI.
Reposted by Julian Togelius
So, the latest wave of LLM tools for coding enable building systems that abstract away the whole "coding" part entirely. If there are going to be software factories, how do you make them *worker-owned* factories? www.anildash.com/2026/02/11/c...
Coding agents as the new compilers - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
www.anildash.com
February 12, 2026 at 3:45 AM
So, the latest wave of LLM tools for coding enable building systems that abstract away the whole "coding" part entirely. If there are going to be software factories, how do you make them *worker-owned* factories? www.anildash.com/2026/02/11/c...
Reposted by Julian Togelius
This is why I always verify the results when I use AI
February 11, 2026 at 3:40 AM
This is why I always verify the results when I use AI
Reposted by Julian Togelius
I love this piece. How interesting and complex your sense of your own problem-solving is here, and fwiw having looked at a lot of research about ability and math, I do not think math is the single "thing" we act like it is and I believe our diverse and different methods of problem-solving are needed
February 9, 2026 at 4:29 PM
I love this piece. How interesting and complex your sense of your own problem-solving is here, and fwiw having looked at a lot of research about ability and math, I do not think math is the single "thing" we act like it is and I believe our diverse and different methods of problem-solving are needed
I wrote about how I don’t know math but still am somehow a successful computer scientist. I have strong feelings about this. But I also want to understand.
togelius.blogspot.com/2026/02/math...
togelius.blogspot.com/2026/02/math...
February 9, 2026 at 5:24 AM
I wrote about how I don’t know math but still am somehow a successful computer scientist. I have strong feelings about this. But I also want to understand.
togelius.blogspot.com/2026/02/math...
togelius.blogspot.com/2026/02/math...
Our toddler calls Nintendo “pretendo” and I think that would be a great name for a high-concept cheap knock-off game console
February 9, 2026 at 2:38 AM
Our toddler calls Nintendo “pretendo” and I think that would be a great name for a high-concept cheap knock-off game console
Makes me think of my favorite Puff Daddy line: “who cares if I write lines, I write checks”. At least he was honest. That one time.
Think that it's dishonest to not tell someone when your writing is AI written, the same position I hold on ghost writing
February 9, 2026 at 1:16 AM
Makes me think of my favorite Puff Daddy line: “who cares if I write lines, I write checks”. At least he was honest. That one time.
Reposted by Julian Togelius
Well, I went ahead and wrote it. An attempt to work through the discomfort people feel with AI agents on social media by reframing it as an aesthetic problem.
The marionette theater of AI
Is it funny, or painful, when bots talk about their inner lives?
tedunderwood.com
February 8, 2026 at 11:09 PM
Well, I went ahead and wrote it. An attempt to work through the discomfort people feel with AI agents on social media by reframing it as an aesthetic problem.
I just want everyone to know that we went outside today
February 7, 2026 at 9:05 PM
I just want everyone to know that we went outside today
I was part of this interesting discussion on post-transformer AI. It was fun! Might interest some.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9o7...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9o7...
The Post-Transformer Era: AI's Next Frontier | NYU x Pathway
YouTube video by Pathway (pathway.com)
www.youtube.com
February 6, 2026 at 5:42 PM
I was part of this interesting discussion on post-transformer AI. It was fun! Might interest some.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9o7...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9o7...
If you’re in New York and interested in games that could not have been designed without AI, Mitu Khandaker and I are organizing this event tonight:
www.eventbrite.com/e/play-meets...
www.eventbrite.com/e/play-meets...
PLAY MEETS AI: Game Design Possibilities at the Frontier
Join us for a collaborative event with Supercell, the NYU Game Center, and the NYU Game Innovation Lab.
www.eventbrite.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:28 PM
If you’re in New York and interested in games that could not have been designed without AI, Mitu Khandaker and I are organizing this event tonight:
www.eventbrite.com/e/play-meets...
www.eventbrite.com/e/play-meets...
I’m keynoting Computers and Games this year! Paper submission is still open. See you in Maastricht?
It is my pleasure to share that @togelius.bsky.social will be one of our keynote speakers at this year's Computers and Games (CG 2026) conference!
There is still some time until the paper submission deadline (February 20). Get your papers in and come see him in Maastricht, on June 20!
There is still some time until the paper submission deadline (February 20). Get your papers in and come see him in Maastricht, on June 20!
February 1, 2026 at 6:59 PM
I’m keynoting Computers and Games this year! Paper submission is still open. See you in Maastricht?
Reposted by Julian Togelius
“We found that using AI assistance led to a statistically significant decrease in mastery.”
Props to Anthropic for studying the effects of their creation and reporting results that are not probably what they wished for
www.anthropic.com/research/AI-...
Props to Anthropic for studying the effects of their creation and reporting results that are not probably what they wished for
www.anthropic.com/research/AI-...
How AI assistance impacts the formation of coding skills
Anthropic is an AI safety and research company that's working to build reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems.
www.anthropic.com
January 31, 2026 at 3:50 AM
“We found that using AI assistance led to a statistically significant decrease in mastery.”
Props to Anthropic for studying the effects of their creation and reporting results that are not probably what they wished for
www.anthropic.com/research/AI-...
Props to Anthropic for studying the effects of their creation and reporting results that are not probably what they wished for
www.anthropic.com/research/AI-...
I had a lot of fun recording this podcast with Joost van Dreunen, aka SuperJoost. We are talking about... AI and games? But in a fun way. We also have some strong opinions. Recommended. I would watch or listen to this myself if I ever watched or listened to podcasts.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u3P...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u3P...
January 23, 2026 - Pod Friends with Julian Togelius
YouTube video by UNBOXING Podcast
www.youtube.com
January 29, 2026 at 8:01 PM
I had a lot of fun recording this podcast with Joost van Dreunen, aka SuperJoost. We are talking about... AI and games? But in a fun way. We also have some strong opinions. Recommended. I would watch or listen to this myself if I ever watched or listened to podcasts.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u3P...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u3P...
I was going to write some notes on what it means to be good at using AI, but it grew into a whole essay. Oops.
You may find it interesting, or even useful, or banal, or wrong. Let me know?
togelius.blogspot.com/2026/01/what...
You may find it interesting, or even useful, or banal, or wrong. Let me know?
togelius.blogspot.com/2026/01/what...
What does it mean to be good at using AI?
They say we should educate people about AI, because we all need to get good at using AI. But what does it mean to be “good at using AI”? I’m...
togelius.blogspot.com
January 28, 2026 at 4:38 AM
I was going to write some notes on what it means to be good at using AI, but it grew into a whole essay. Oops.
You may find it interesting, or even useful, or banal, or wrong. Let me know?
togelius.blogspot.com/2026/01/what...
You may find it interesting, or even useful, or banal, or wrong. Let me know?
togelius.blogspot.com/2026/01/what...
New strawberry just dropped
January 23, 2026 at 9:36 PM
New strawberry just dropped
They know things, but they don’t drink. Kinda boring, these models.
January 23, 2026 at 4:51 AM
They know things, but they don’t drink. Kinda boring, these models.
Reposted by Julian Togelius
I just thought everyone should see this
January 22, 2026 at 11:02 PM
I just thought everyone should see this
If you read this and think "I don't want to go to school!"... that is exactly what my toddler said this morning. But also, this is more than a summer school. It's the place to hear about the new cool AI stuff happening in games, and meet people doing exciting stuff at the X of AI and games. Join us!
Early Bird registration is now open for the #GameAISchool2026📍 Leiden, NL | 📅 15–19 June 2026
We’re excited to welcome partners including Activision, DeepMind, Microsoft, Sony AI, Sony SIE, Riot Games, Unity, Arm, CCP, Wargaming, Krafton, Iconic, Ludomotion, Humanfeedback.ai & more announced soon.
We’re excited to welcome partners including Activision, DeepMind, Microsoft, Sony AI, Sony SIE, Riot Games, Unity, Arm, CCP, Wargaming, Krafton, Iconic, Ludomotion, Humanfeedback.ai & more announced soon.
January 16, 2026 at 3:43 PM
If you read this and think "I don't want to go to school!"... that is exactly what my toddler said this morning. But also, this is more than a summer school. It's the place to hear about the new cool AI stuff happening in games, and meet people doing exciting stuff at the X of AI and games. Join us!
Reposted by Julian Togelius
A game is more than the sum of its mechanics. But the game mechanics are really important! Can you make AI generate novel games by creating new mechanics, one at a time? Our new system, Mortar, generates complete games this way.
January 12, 2026 at 8:00 PM
A game is more than the sum of its mechanics. But the game mechanics are really important! Can you make AI generate novel games by creating new mechanics, one at a time? Our new system, Mortar, generates complete games this way.
Our new game generation system, Mortar, builds games by iteratively inventing and testing mechanics. Read more about it and try some of its invented games in the linked post!
A game is more than the sum of its mechanics. But the game mechanics are really important! Can you make AI generate novel games by creating new mechanics, one at a time? Our new system, Mortar, generates complete games this way.
January 12, 2026 at 8:11 PM
Our new game generation system, Mortar, builds games by iteratively inventing and testing mechanics. Read more about it and try some of its invented games in the linked post!
It is unavoidable that AI will be a major political issue soon. Or perhaps more appropriately: several major issues. I write more about this here:
togelius.blogspot.com/2025/12/maki...
togelius.blogspot.com/2025/12/maki...
Making AI Political
It is unavoidable that AI will be a major political issue soon. Or perhaps more appropriately: several major issues. As a technologist, I sy...
togelius.blogspot.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:45 PM
It is unavoidable that AI will be a major political issue soon. Or perhaps more appropriately: several major issues. I write more about this here:
togelius.blogspot.com/2025/12/maki...
togelius.blogspot.com/2025/12/maki...
I recently read "Mathematica" by David Bessis, and I think it's a fantastic book! Before I recommend it to everyone, I would love to hear from people who do mathematics, or at least prove a theorem now and then. Do you agree with Bessis' description of what mathematics is and what mathematicians do?
December 29, 2025 at 2:45 AM
I recently read "Mathematica" by David Bessis, and I think it's a fantastic book! Before I recommend it to everyone, I would love to hear from people who do mathematics, or at least prove a theorem now and then. Do you agree with Bessis' description of what mathematics is and what mathematicians do?
Reposted by Julian Togelius
How does one ethically ensure that one’s Wikipedia page is updated? Mine is out of date and incomplete. I understand that I’m not supposed to edit it myself. I’m happy to pay to have it updated, but is that also against the rules?
December 26, 2025 at 5:08 AM
How does one ethically ensure that one’s Wikipedia page is updated? Mine is out of date and incomplete. I understand that I’m not supposed to edit it myself. I’m happy to pay to have it updated, but is that also against the rules?
Me complace anunciar que mi libro más reciente, Inteligencia Artificial General, también ha sido traducido al español. Ya está disponible en Ediciones UC.
December 22, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Me complace anunciar que mi libro más reciente, Inteligencia Artificial General, también ha sido traducido al español. Ya está disponible en Ediciones UC.