PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Jeff Clune

Jeff Clune is a computer scientist whose work spans AI agents that learn Minecraft from internet video and systems that rewrite their own code. He completed a computer science PhD at Michigan State University in 2010, and he received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2019. In January 2021 he joined UBC's computer science department while also involved with OpenAI, and in 2021 he co-authored “First return, then explore” in Nature. ICML listed Genie: Generative Interactive Environments as a Best Paper in 2024, and Sakana AI presented the Darwin Gödel Machine, built with his UBC lab, in May 2025. As of October 2026, he is a professor of computer science at UBC, a Canada CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute, and a co-founder of Recursive.

Timeline

  1. 2010

    A computer science PhD

    He completes a computer science PhD at Michigan State University in 2010.

  2. 2019

    A Presidential early-career award

    He receives the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2019.

  3. January 2021

    Joining UBC and a Nature paper

    He joins UBC's computer science department in January 2021, while also involved with OpenAI. He co-authors “First return, then explore” in Nature in 2021.

  4. 2022

    Learning Minecraft from video

    He co-authors Video PreTraining (VPT), a 2022 NeurIPS paper in which an AI learns to play Minecraft by watching internet videos.

  5. 2023

    Open-endedness with OMNI

    He co-authors OMNI, a 2023 paper on open-endedness and models of human notions of interestingness.

  6. 2024

    A best paper for Genie

    In 2024, ICML lists Genie: Generative Interactive Environments as a Best Paper. He is one of its co-authors.

  7. May 2025

    The Darwin Gödel Machine

    In May 2025, Sakana AI presents the Darwin Gödel Machine, a system that improves itself by rewriting its own code, in collaboration with Clune's UBC lab. He also works as a Senior Research Advisor at DeepMind in 2025.

  8. As of October 2026

    Co-founder of Recursive

    As of October 2026, he is a professor of computer science at UBC, a Canada CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute, and a co-founder of Recursive.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Jeff Clune yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Jeff Clune - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Associate Professor Jeff Clune joins UBC CS Department | Computer Science at UBC cs.ubc.ca. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. Jeff Clune – CIFAR cifar.ca. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. NeurIPS'22: Dr. Clune and co-researchers land at the top of their game in Machine Learning | Computer Science at UBC cs.ubc.ca. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. ICML 2024 Awards icml.cc. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Jeff Clune - Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence vectorinstitute.ai. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. The Darwin Gödel Machine: AI that improves itself by rewriting its own code sakana.ai. Checked 14 October 2026.
  8. Jeff CLUNE | Singapore Conference on AI scai.gov.sg. Checked 14 October 2026.
  9. Jeff Clune - Professor - Computer Science - University of British Columbia jeffclune.com. Checked 14 October 2026.