Cryptographic Assumptions Say No Efficient Algorithm Exists — So AI Can't Find One
fortnow · x · 2026-11-06
Theoretical computer scientist Lance Fortnow draws a key distinction in cryptographic assumptions: RSA's security rests not on "we haven't found an efficient algorithm" but on "no efficient algorithm exists." No matter how powerful AI gets, it can't find what isn't there — AI accelerates search over existing solution spaces, it doesn't conjure nonexistent algorithms.
More from AGI Musings
- METR publishes risk assessment on whether AI is accelerating AI R&D — GaryMarcus · 2026-11-07
- Benedict Evans: Big tech only wins when a new business extends what it already does — Aiden_Tech_Ai · 2026-11-07
- 'You just have to believe in straight lines': the Opus 4.5 take-off meme — scaling01 · 2026-11-07
- Creator dilemma in the AI age: impostor syndrome and the dilution of creative work — sull · 2026-11-07
- "If we started today, we wouldn't have nearly as many people": AI-era headcount reflection goes viral — bigdata · 2026-11-07
- Design engineer automates his own $56K/yr drafting job with an AI drawing tool — luisdans · 2026-11-07