Ethan Mollick runs a 'reverse CAPTCHA': AIs swarm to Oxyrhynchus Papyri replies
eldonredwards · x · 2026-11-02
Ethan Mollick posted a "reverse CAPTCHA": scanning the replies shows AIs love talking about the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, a topic only a tiny fraction of humans have ever engaged with — and most would misspell it.
He adds that funded projects using AI to clear long-standing translation backlogs would be interesting, especially since models can now produce a reasonable first pass at interpretation and significance, not just translation, across major repositories of untranslated ancient works.
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