TechCrunch's last-minute techy Halloween costumes: recursive self-improvement to a PHP vulnerability

The list plays on a year of tech headlines, turning anxieties and inside jokes into low-effort costumes. One suggestion, "recursive self-improvement," references the idea that AI models could advance without human intervention, a concern TechCrunch notes AI leaders like Dario Amodei and Sam Altman have expressed. Another, the "deceptively cute AI agent," nods to AI assistants with creepily cute avatars launched by Meta and OpenAI. The PHP vulnerability costume draws on the "PHP-ocalypse" — AI unearthed critical PHP flaws only last week. The list also includes a Mark Zuckerberg costume based on his recent boxy black T-shirts and a Bryan Johnson costume, plus a second Bryan Johnson couples costume called GLP-Bryan, based on his X post about lying on his partner.