Video Generation Meets Agent Harness: Agentic Video Generation, Agentic World Modeling and Recursive Self-Improvement

Video generation is shifting from end-to-end synthesis toward agentic generation, where planning, tool use, and feedback enable coherent, controllable multi-shot videos. In parallel, video world models provide action-conditioned observations and predicted futures, serving as interactive environments for agents. We study their intersection through the agent harness: an executable runtime that constructs context, exposes tools, maintains state, routes feedback, and manages budgets around video models. This report examines three directions. First, agentic video generation, where harnesses coordinate scripting, shot planning, asset management, production, and editing, alongside the evaluation challenges of these systems. Second, agentic world modeling, where harnesses mediate observation, control, execution, and state. We discuss hybrid designs in which game engines or agent-written programs maintain world state while video models render observations, and how agents and world models can mutually evaluate and improve one another. Third, recursive self-improvement (RSI) in video model development, distinguishing output revisions, updates to harness state, generator parameters, and evaluators, and changes to the improvement procedure itself. We identify how these improvements feed back into subsequent development. Across these directions, we analyze essential agent capabilities, including audiovisual perception, long-horizon planning, memory, code-based interaction, feedback-guided control, skill reuse, and multi-agent coordination. We conclude with challenges in autonomous video production, lifelong memory, programmable hybrid control, autonomous model development, provenance, cost accounting, and evaluation linking video quality and task performance to sustained improvements in models and harnesses.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
arXiv (Cornell University)
Published
2026-10-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2610.40191
Primary Topic
Generative Adversarial Networks and Image Synthesis
Type
preprint
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preprint

Video Generation Meets Agent Harness: Agentic Video Generation, Agentic World Modeling and Recursive Self-Improvement

Weijia Mao, Qi Hu, Liaoyuan Fan, Mike Zheng Shou et al.
arXiv (Cornell University)
Generative Adversarial Networks and Image Synthesis
preprint

Video Generation Meets Agent Harness: Agentic Video Generation, Agentic World Modeling and Recursive Self-Improvement

Weijia Mao, Qi Hu, Liaoyuan Fan, Mike Zheng Shou, Dongxing Mao, Guian Fang, Yuhao Zheng, Junchao Yi, Hangyu Ran, Rui Zhao, Alex Jinpeng Wang, Wei Liu, Yuchao Gu, Yanzhe Chen, Yuxin Jiang, Zeyu Zhu, Yiren Song, Kevin Qinghong Lin, Siyuan Hu, Dan Kong, Weijia Wu
preprint en

Abstract

Video generation is shifting from end-to-end synthesis toward agentic generation, where planning, tool use, and feedback enable coherent, controllable multi-shot videos. In parallel, video world models provide action-conditioned observations and predicted futures, serving as interactive environments for agents. We study their intersection through the agent harness: an executable runtime that constructs context, exposes tools, maintains state, routes feedback, and manages budgets around video models. This report examines three directions. First, agentic video generation, where harnesses coordinate scripting, shot planning, asset management, production, and editing, alongside the evaluation challenges of these systems. Second, agentic world modeling, where harnesses mediate observation, control, execution, and state. We discuss hybrid designs in which game engines or agent-written programs maintain world state while video models render observations, and how agents and world models can mutually evaluate and improve one another. Third, recursive self-improvement (RSI) in video model development, distinguishing output revisions, updates to harness state, generator parameters, and evaluators, and changes to the improvement procedure itself. We identify how these improvements feed back into subsequent development. Across these directions, we analyze essential agent capabilities, including audiovisual perception, long-horizon planning, memory, code-based interaction, feedback-guided control, skill reuse, and multi-agent coordination. We conclude with challenges in autonomous video production, lifelong memory, programmable hybrid control, autonomous model development, provenance, cost accounting, and evaluation linking video quality and task performance to sustained improvements in models and harnesses.

arXiv (Cornell University)
Generative Adversarial Networks and Image Synthesis
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