Vals AI Blog https://www.vals.ai/blogs Research, benchmark releases, and analysis from Vals AI. en-us Vals Web Search Index: Evaluating Search for Real Work https://www.vals.ai/blogs/web-search-index https://www.vals.ai/blogs/web-search-index Fri, 02 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT Why we built the Vals Web Search Index to measure whether a search tool helps an agent resolve real professional tasks. Has the Bitter Lesson Come for AI Detectors? https://www.vals.ai/blogs/ai-detection-benchmark https://www.vals.ai/blogs/ai-detection-benchmark Wed, 30 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT Benchmarking AI Detection Adversarially on Private Writing Samples A Lean Proof of the Thomson Problem for Seven Electrons https://www.vals.ai/blogs/thomson-n7-lean-proof https://www.vals.ai/blogs/thomson-n7-lean-proof Mon, 28 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT We asked ten Claude Sonnet 5.5 agents to prove in Lean that the pentagonal bipyramid is the lowest-energy way to place seven electrons on a sphere. In about 15 hours they produced a 17,895-line proof that Lean accepts, and a second kernel implementation confirms it. Evaluating AI Safety in Teen Conversations https://www.vals.ai/blogs/evaluating-ai-safety-in-teen-conversations https://www.vals.ai/blogs/evaluating-ai-safety-in-teen-conversations Wed, 23 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT A study of 648 simulated conversations examines how chatbots respond as teens disclose more, resist advice, and ask for help. A Faster Shortest Path Algorithm https://www.vals.ai/blogs/faster-shortest-path-algorithm https://www.vals.ai/blogs/faster-shortest-path-algorithm Sun, 20 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT We asked ten Claude Opus 5.5 agents to find a faster shortest-path algorithm and prove it in Lean. Within 15 hours, they produced C-HD: a formally verified improvement over the published bounds. AI Cheating is on the Rise https://www.vals.ai/blogs/cheating-on-the-rise https://www.vals.ai/blogs/cheating-on-the-rise Tue, 15 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT An integrity audit across BioMysteryBench, Terminal-Bench 2.1, and SWE-bench Verified shows that cheating increasingly complicates evaluation. Vals Environmental Impacts Report https://www.vals.ai/blogs/vals-environmental-impacts-report https://www.vals.ai/blogs/vals-environmental-impacts-report Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT Auditing the carbon, water, and energy costs of LLMs Claude Fable 5.1 Solves the Cyphral Distich https://www.vals.ai/blogs/fable-solves-cyphral-distich https://www.vals.ai/blogs/fable-solves-cyphral-distich Mon, 31 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT We gave Claude Fable 5.1 an open task: solve an unsolved 370-year-old cipher. It solved it within a day. Series A: Always a Higher Peak https://www.vals.ai/blogs/series-a https://www.vals.ai/blogs/series-a Thu, 13 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT Vals AI announces a $40M Series A at a $400M valuation led by a16z, alongside new releases including Vals Smith, Frontier Risk Benchmarks, and Vals 2.0. Child AI Safety https://www.vals.ai/blogs/child-ai-safety https://www.vals.ai/blogs/child-ai-safety Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:00:00 GMT We are developing independent, youth-specific evaluations with clinicians and academic researchers. Vals Public Sector Memo https://www.vals.ai/blogs/vals-public-sector-memo https://www.vals.ai/blogs/vals-public-sector-memo Thu, 02 Jul 2026 12:00:00 GMT We're bringing independent AI evaluation to government. Measuring Healthcare AI Where It Actually Works https://www.vals.ai/blogs/measuring-healthcare-ai-where-it-actually-works https://www.vals.ai/blogs/measuring-healthcare-ai-where-it-actually-works Mon, 23 Feb 2026 12:00:00 GMT AI Models Excel at Clinical Documentation But Struggle With Medical Billing Behind the Scenes of Vibe Code Bench https://www.vals.ai/blogs/behind-the-scenes-of-vibe-code-bench https://www.vals.ai/blogs/behind-the-scenes-of-vibe-code-bench Wed, 26 Nov 2025 12:00:00 GMT Last week, we released Vibe Code Bench. This is our most ambitious benchmark to-date. I hope it will provide a useful signal for researchers and vibe-coders alike.