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Notes -
It hinges on whether the techniques humans learn to solve open problems can be applied to areas that LLMs can’t. If LLMs can apply their own techniques, or solve more open problems with more time and scaling that continues to be feasible, human-readable proofs won’t matter beyond niche curiosity. But even then, curiosity and learning for its own sake are intrinsically important to some people. Moreover, I think these techniques sometimes lead to insights (that, for example, lead to new inventions) which today’s LLMs lack the creativity to apply themselves.
Fair enough but I think that window is closing. 'LLMs can't' is just going to shrink and shrink. It's already perilously small! If they can do Millennium problems, what can't they do in maths? They can't answer the other Millennium problems just yet? Judging by past trends, that's about six months to a year away!
OK, they can't deliver real gamechangers like quantum gravity or room temperature superconductors. But what are the chances that humans understanding whatever insane techniques the AIs used would help us get to quantum gravity before the AIs do that?
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