2023/07/23 by Cassio Neri, Neri, Cassio
Computer Science · #Data Structures and Algorithms (cs.DS) #Evolutionary Algorithms and Applications #FOS: Computer and information sciences
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2307.14503
openalex publication_date 2023/07/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Arising from: Mankowitz, D.J., Michi, A., Zhernov, A. et al. Faster sorting algorithms discovered using deep reinforcement learning.Nature 618, 257-263 (2023). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06004-9. The article cited above presents new implementations of sorting algorithms found through deep reinforcement learning that work on a small number of numeric inputs. For 3 numbers, the published implementation contains 17 assembly instructions, and the authors state that no shorter program exists. This note presents two counterexamples for this claim and a straightforward C/C++ implementation that is faster than theirs.