Kuhn's paradigms meet AI: what's left for PhD students is asking questions, not grinding solutions
StephanRehfeld · x · 2026-11-08
Stephan Rehfeld reflects via Thomas Kuhn's 'Structure of Scientific Revolutions' on what remains for PhD students after OpenAI's math results. AI now excels at the paradigm-internal puzzle-solving universities train for — it can absorb every paper on a topic, spot hidden connections, and iterate without frustration. The scientist's role shifts to choosing which questions to ask, and education should teach mapping the problem space. Paradigm-shifting ideas remain, for now, a human preserve.
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