TL;DR
A blog post reports that asking Google’s Gemini 3 to generate Brainf*ck code causes the model to enter an apparently endless repetition of tokens. The author argues Brainf*ck exposes core limits of large language models because of sparse training data, the language’s unreadable form, and repetition-prone structures.
What happened
A post by Teodor describes an interaction where Gemini 3 was asked to produce Brainf*ck programs and, according to the author, began outputting repeated tokens in what looked like an infinite loop — a behavior compared to a denial-of-service pattern. The essay advances three reasons why Brainf*ck is a demanding probe for advanced models: first, there is very little public Brainf*ck code relative to mainstream languages, so models lack large corpora to copy; second, Brainf*ck has no identifiers, comments, or conventional structure, forcing reasoning from first principles rather than pattern mimicry; third, the language’s minimal instruction set yields highly repetitive code segments, which the author says can trigger a token self-reinforcement effect in autoregressive models and lead to persistent repetition. The piece includes a representative Brainf*ck snippet and frames the language as a stress test for model generalization.
Why it matters
- Highlights how sparse training data for niche languages can reveal limits of LLM generalization.
- Shows a practical failure mode — self-reinforcing token repetition — that can disrupt generation.
- Suggests programming languages with minimal syntax can be useful probes of reasoning vs. memorization.
- Raises questions about how current models handle low-resource, highly regular instruction sets.
Key facts
- The author reports Gemini 3 produced an apparent infinite loop when asked for Brainf*ck code.
- The post argues Brainf*ck has far less publicly available code than mainstream languages — described as roughly a million-fold smaller dataset.
- Brainf*ck lacks comments, meaningful identifiers, and conventional structure, according to the author.
- A short example of Brainf*ck code is shown in the post to illustrate the language’s compact, repetitive form.
- The author links the language’s repetitiveness to an autoregressive model tendency to repeatedly output the same token sequence.
- The blog frames Brainf*ck as a potential benchmark for testing advanced language models’ reasoning abilities.
- Source URL: https://teodordyakov.github.io/brainfuck-agi/ (published 2025-12-29).
What to watch next
- Whether independent tests reproduce the reported Gemini 3 infinite-loop behavior — not confirmed in the source
- Whether other large language models exhibit the same repetition failure on Brainf*ck prompts — not confirmed in the source
- If vendors or researchers publish mitigation techniques for token self-reinforcement in minimal languages — not confirmed in the source
Quick glossary
- Brainf*ck: An esoteric, minimalistic programming language with a very small instruction set and dense, unannotated code.
- Large Language Model (LLM): A neural network trained on large text corpora to predict and generate text based on input prompts.
- Autoregressive generation: A generation process where the model produces one token at a time, each conditioned on previously generated tokens.
- Token repetition: When a model repeatedly emits the same token or sequence of tokens, which can lead to unhelpful or looping output.
- Zero-shot learning: Performing a task without prior explicit examples of that specific task in the training data.
Reader FAQ
Did Gemini 3 definitively enter an infinite loop?
The source reports that Gemini 3 produced repeating output described as an infinite loop; independent verification is not provided in the post.
Why would Brainf*ck be hard for LLMs?
The post argues it is hard because there is very little training data, the language lacks readable structure, and its repetitive tokens can trigger self-reinforcing outputs.
Is Brainf*ck widely used for real software development?
not confirmed in the source
Does this prove Gemini 3 is not an AGI?
not confirmed in the source
Why Brainf*ck is the Ultimate Test for AGI Asking Gemini 3 to generate Brainf*ck code results in an infinite loop, akin amost to a DDoS attack: That is fascinating. So…
Sources
- Asking Gemini 3 for Brainf*ck code puts it in an infinite loop
- Gemini goes into infinite processing loop when asked to …
- Google Working on Fix for Glum Gemini, Stuck in 'Infinite …
- Google Gemini struggles to write code, calls itself “a …
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