It does work for me, with a sigmoid function (typical function used for s-curve).
test : search_dichotomic "u {1/(1+exp(-$""1))}",0.15 val=${}
and then:
$ gmic test
[gmic]-0./ Start G'MIC interpreter.
[gmic]-0./test/ Set local variable 'val=-1.7421875'.
[gmic]-0./ End G'MIC interpreter.
which is indeed correct:
$ gmic e {"x=-1.7421875;1/(1+exp(-x))"}
[gmic]-0./ Start G'MIC interpreter.
[gmic]-0./ 0.14903529447863062
[gmic]-0./ End G'MIC interpreter.