Terence Tao on Careers in the AI Era: Humans Will Outlive Their Expertise
r0ck3t23 · x · 2026-08-01
When asked about career advice, Fields Medalist Terence Tao stated that the traditional model of picking one profession for life is becoming obsolete. He emphasized that adaptability is now crucial.
Tao cited his own experience of starting from scratch with Lean, an AI proof assistant. He highlighted the psychological difficulty of being a beginner again, especially for established experts. The post argues that humans will now outlive their expertise multiple times, and the willingness to embrace being new is the ultimate skill to compound.
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