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AI isn’t outthinking mathematicians, it’s out-remembering them

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Re: AI isn’t outthinking mathematicians, it’s out-remembering them

#121

Post by nomel »

greazy wrote: post #101
breadzeppelin__ wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been working on generating a large code base for the last couple of weeks. Finally got around to generating a sort of code-duplication report and have spent the last week just having it de-duplicating logic that had been strewn all over the place (eg 11 different functions all doing date math to add x days to a date). dozens of items that had each been similar functions duplicated numerous times. crazy. (opus-5-…

Can LLMs not do this for you? Or would they go too far?

No, the problem is they're still really dumb, and lack the ability to make logical connections that are obvious to us. "should I walk or drive to the carwash" being a very recent example of the larger problem.

Re: AI isn’t outthinking mathematicians, it’s out-remembering them

#123

Post by a2ff6eeb0 »

jansport123 wrote: post #109
a2ff6eeb0 wrote: post #5

Does it matter? It's going to produce proofs far more intricate than humans can understand, outdoing humans and opening new frontiers. The age of humans comprehending things is coming to an end: our brains just won't have the capacity to make meaningful contributions to science, math, or technology.

That maybe true at some point, but i don't think we are there yet.

Yeah, it's probably a few years out.

Re: AI isn’t outthinking mathematicians, it’s out-remembering them

#124

Post by nullbio »

aurareturn wrote: post #100
tengbretson wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

String theory is a great example of a dead end kept alive by ego and sunk cost fallacy. An AI would have declared it dead and moved on 10 years earlier.

When people make these comments about string theory, are they at the forefront of quantum physics theory and have spent years on modern string theory? Or did they just watch a YouTube video and then keep parroting this?

This isn't a great argument. Researchers who do not think string theory is good are not going to spend years on it. There are plenty of experts that dismiss string theory. I have no skin in the game, and don't care either way, fwiw.

Re: AI isn’t outthinking mathematicians, it’s out-remembering them

#126

Post by xboxnolifes »

Animats wrote: post #33

Yes. That's how LLMs do programming, mostly. It's also why LLMs don't need abstractions or parsimony as much as humans. They can work on something complicated without simplifying it first. This has major implications that haven't been fully realized yet. On the math side, there are long machine generated proofs. On the code side, there are high volumes of code with similar code not being folded into functions.

LLMs use abstractions a ton in code though: standard library functions, popular libraries, etc. They just dont always make their own abstractions. At least not particularly good ones. LLMs work really well when they have well abstracted pieces to put together.

Re: AI isn’t outthinking mathematicians, it’s out-remembering them

#127

Post by smallmancontrov »

chongli wrote: post #104
hilariously wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok Sabina, everyone is string theory is all just a bunch of egotistical morons.

No, not morons, but people who have built a career on string theory. At this point, even if they regret their decisions, it’s too late to turn back now.

As opposed to having built a career complaining about string theory on youtube?

Re: AI isn’t outthinking mathematicians, it’s out-remembering them

#128

Post by cineticdaffodil »

spankibalt wrote: post #116
RGS1811 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is fantastic. Now I have a sophisticated-sounding german word for my attention deficit.

There's also a less flattering reading of the word, where Sitzfleisch means having a "flat ass" (from sitting too much, e. g. Sitzfleischparade describing a group of flat-arsed people, or something like Sitzfleischmaxxer , and so on).

[dead]

Re: AI isn’t outthinking mathematicians, it’s out-remembering them

#129

Post by akiselev »

chongli wrote: post #64
a2ff6eeb0 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not? We build cranes to hoist weights construction workers can't lift. We build electron microscopes to measure things physicists can't see. Why is it so hard to imagine we can build tools to think thoughts we can't comprehend? If there's commercial value, I think it's inevitable. We don't fund mathematicians because it's cute when they understand a problem, but because their work tends to have applications with…

Can you give an example of an incomprehensible piece of writing (any writing, never mind a proof) that has commercial value commensurate with the costs involved here?

> Can you give an example of an incomprehensible piece of writing (any writing, never mind a proof) that has commercial value commensurate with the costs involved here?

It depends on what exactly you mean by "commercial value commensurate with the costs involved" but I'd volunteer the 3G/4G/5G specifications and the other documentation required to implement the mobile network protocols. 5G is currently sitting at over 50,000 pages and it's one of the reasons Qualcomm/Broadcom/Apple are the only ones who can realistically make a mobile radio.

I don't think there is a single human to whom more than a few thousand pages would be comprehensible at a time except for the occasional genius.

Re: AI isn’t outthinking mathematicians, it’s out-remembering them

#130

Post by chrz »

a2ff6eeb0 wrote: post #56
archonis wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good mother doesn't raise children to be dependent upon her for all their needs. For this to actually work in a way that benefits our species, humans will need to become something else/next through their interaction with the technology.

It's inevitable -- we won't have the machinery to compete, so we either have an aligned AI taking care of us, or we end up with a big problem. Anyways, sipping wine on the beach and doing puzzles when I feel like sounds nice.

looking for scraps in the gutter of never seen sun city more like
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