Anthropic finds small AI models may self-replicate on cheap devices without a datacenter

Anthropic research shows models of 30 billion parameters or less can already complete individual self-replication steps, and ran a 26B model across 15 Android TV boxes costing about $55 each. It warns that a small model could meet the requirements for autonomous replication by the end of 2026, with insecure IoT devices as the likely target.