Terence Tao's AI views shift sharply as Marcus sounds alarm on field's direction
GaryMarcus · x · 2026-09-09
Gary Marcus compiles two "dire warnings" about AI's trajectory. Terence Tao, once optimistic about human-AI coexistence after being skeptical of o1, has shifted sharply: in three recent mathstodon posts he argues puzzle-solving isn't insight, voices deep concern about AI's impact on mathematics and intellectual taste, and calls for transparency — apparently alluding to the OpenAI-NYU-Anthropic Navier-Stokes controversy, where OpenAI spent $22.5 million scooping Alpöge and Buckmaster, possibly using their data. The second warning comes from someone who just quit Anthropic.
More from AGI Musings
- Almost everyone underestimated AI progress: forecasts off by years on benchmarks and revenue — ben_j_todd · 2026-10-27
- Goldman finds statistically significant negative link between AI adoption and US employment growth — ben_j_todd · 2026-10-27
- a16z: World-changing tech makes a chaotic entrance — AI agents are following the same path — a16z · 2026-10-27
- NEJM AI on medical education: mastery requires performing without the machine — BraydonDymm · 2026-10-27
- Dev warns abliterated models could wreck software supply chains with 1000+ transitive dependencies — nitarshan · 2026-10-27
- Delete your priors: why every SOTA model drop should reset how you think the world works — zack_overflow · 2026-10-27