AI grinds computations but lacks theory, mathematicians explain limitations
stuffyokodraws · x · 2026-09-02
University of Toronto mathematician Daniel Litt and a16z's Lisha Li discuss AI's impact on mathematics. Current models excel at long computations and applying known techniques but fail at building theory or holding the vague philosophical intuitions essential to the field. The conversation also covers how mathematicians scavenged an AI proof for parts to solve other problems and the concern that a thousand AI mathematicians might just be clones of the same mind.
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