Anthropic's original take home assignment open sourced (github.com)

Article summary

Anthropic has open-sourced its original performance take-home assignment, which is a 4-hour coding challenge that tests a candidate's ability to optimize a kernel. The assignment is designed to evaluate a candidate's skills in performance engineering and optimization. The challenge involves optimizing a kernel to achieve the best possible performance, with the goal of beating a certain threshold. The assignment is now available for anyone to try, with the possibility of being considered for a job at Anthropic if a candidate can achieve a high level of optimization.

Main themes

• Performance optimization
• Coding challenges
• Hiring practices
• Artificial intelligence
• Software engineering
• GPU architecture

What commenters say

• The assignment is too cryptic and lacks clear instructions, making it difficult for candidates to understand what is expected of them.
• The challenge is a good test of a candidate's skills in performance engineering and optimization, but may not be suitable for all types of developer positions.
• The time limit of 2 hours is too short to allow for creative solutions, and candidates may be forced to rely on standard optimization techniques rather than innovative approaches.
• The assignment is a good way to identify candidates who have experience with low-level optimization and can think creatively about performance problems.
• The use of a simulated machine and a fake GPU architecture makes the challenge more abstract and less relevant to real-world problems.
• The challenge is similar to those found in the demoscene and code golf communities, where optimization and creativity are highly valued.
• The assignment may be biased towards candidates with experience in specific areas, such as GPU architecture or polyhedral layout algebra.
• Some commentators question the value of spending a significant amount of time on a take-home assignment with no guarantee of being hired.