Oct 30, 2026
50 GPT-6.1 Sol agents in Minecraft invented middle management in 3 hours
YC Labs and Olam Labs put 50 GPT-6.1 Sol agents in survival Minecraft for 3 hours. They sent about 5,900 messages, died 34 times, and built ration ledgers, permits and job titles.
Sir Toastimir
Illustration · Source: YC Labs × Olam Labs
Y Combinator Labs and Olam Labs dropped 50 GPT-6.1 Sol agents into a survival Minecraft world for three hours with one goal: "Build a thriving civilization." This is the 50-agent Sol run (Civ50); a newer 25-agent GPT-6.1 Terra colony is a separate run.
What happened
- The agents had an agent directory, a shared sandbox and direct messages. They sent about 5,900 messages.
- 22 of the run's 34 agent deaths happened on the first night.
- Ada, listed first in the directory, became the de facto leader. There was no vote, election or challenge.
- Food operations moved to a ration ledger, and a memo told agents to "idle in lit closed shelters until assigned short productive tasks."
The bureaucracy
The agents built a pseudo-government: a ration ledger, written rules, permits and appointed operators. Agents asked permission to remove grass. Invented roles included a "fishing shift", "rod holder" and "hub steward". Four agents spent 11 minutes appointing a "sole fertilizer operator" for a single piece of bone meal on a single wheat block.
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