Active Learning and Causal AI Challenge the Claim That Only Humans Can Run the Theory-Experiment Loop
maier_ak · x · 2026-09-21
Andreas Maier critiques Felin & Holweg's position paper "Theory Is All You Need" (Strategy Science), which argues that LLMs are fundamentally backward-looking predictors, unlike humans' forward-looking, theory-driven causal reasoning that generates genuine novelty—a point illustrated via heavier-than-air flight. Maier concedes the argument is well-made but says it targets AI as of 2023: active learning, reinforcement learning, and causal models already design experiments, intervene, and create new data, undermining the claim that only humans can run the theory-experiment loop.
More from AGI Musings
- "It's just vectors and multiplication": X users spar over whether understanding mechanisms rules out consciousness — cephaloform · 2026-09-21
- Fields Medalist Villani, June LLM skeptic, says OpenAI's math result left him shaken — zetalyrae · 2026-09-21
- Terence Tao: AI is cracking major math conjectures, "but we can afford to be slower" — rohanpaul_ai · 2026-09-21
- "AI writing is impossible to edit" — the real tell, plus 40-50 iteration reality — kfountou · 2026-09-21
- Shopify CEO Now Horrified by AI 'Slop Grenades' After Mandating AI Use — jonerp · 2026-09-21
- "Our language is not free data": rethinking ownership in language AI — danielleboyerr · 2026-09-21