Nice accessible talk from the Simons Institute presenting one researcher's view on where math is and where it's going.

Summary: there is too much to keep up with and modern proofs are almost too big for individuals to grok. AI with automatic theorem provers is a promising immediate term path forward.

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[–] 1 point 1 year ago* (2 children)

Remember when the Internet was new and the Windows TCPIP stack was fragile AF?

Actually I'm old enough to remember the internet very much more reliable than that at that time, and before. The Windows TCP/IP stack being fragile and buggy was just a Microsoft problem. Those of us under Unix had no issues - at least nowhere near as many.

But I digress...

There's a fundamental difference between the birth of the internet and the birth of AI: the former didn't destroy society to become a mature technology.

I have no doubt AI will one day deliver on its promises. But I question who will be left in any capacity to enjoy it when it does.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Using hyperbole like "destroy society" is unhelpful. Equally low-effort, low-precision to say "social media has destroyed society"

    Arguably so, but does nothing to advance conversation nor understanding

    For the record, I learned on system/360 So yeah... the Internet is new

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    Using hyperbole like “destroy society” is unhelpful.

    Well, you watch. You ain't seen nothing yet. The hyperbole will soon prove to be totally understated. Not that this is helpful though, you're right about that.

    PDP-11 here 🙂

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