Darmok, an AI program, beats the human champion at the Times cryptic crossword
AIDarmok, an AI program built on Gemini 3.1 Pro, Claude Fable 5, GPT-5 and GPT-6 Astra, solved the final puzzle of the Times's annual cryptic crossword competition about three minutes faster than Liam Hughes, 29, the contest's youngest human winner. Darmok's first attempt last year failed when it gave up on the final puzzle after 18 minutes.
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The Guardian · AI · Alan Evans · theguardian.comPublished · added here
Original title: Could this be a Deep Blue moment for the cryptic crossword?