Anthropic claims its AI built a working C compiler from scratch without internet access. But experts are unimpressed, citing the lack of challenge and flaws in the implementation. Writing a C compiler requires significant effort, even for undergraduates, and Anthropic’s method seems more like retrieving existing code than discovering it from first principles.
The company claims its 16 agents created a Rust-based C compiler that compiles Doom and Linux. However, critics point out its limitations, such as not including the path to native libraries, failing to boot Linux in real mode, and producing less efficient code than GCC. This demo feels more like an impressive lab experiment than a game-changing development milestone.
Anthropic’s approach relies on existing open-source code, test suites, and execution harnesses created by humans. The training data problem is also significant, as the system was developed using its own code base during training. Instead of discovering compilers from first principles, Anthropic seems to have refined an existing solution.
AI can be a valuable tool in programming, but it’s not yet ready to replace human developers entirely. Companies should use AI with careful expert guidance to maximize its potential rather than relying on flashy demos that hide the true complexity involved.
Source: https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/13/anthropic_c_compiler