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The more Terry talks about AI, the more I'm starting to feel like Terry may have some undisclosed conflicts of interest. https://www.reddit.com/r/mathematics/c

The more Terry talks about AI, the more I'm starting to feel like Terry may have some undisclosed conflicts of interest. https://www.reddit.com/r/mathematics/comments/1tryyw7/terence_taos_promotional_video_for_openai/ https://www.reddit.com/r/mathematics/comments/1tryyw7/terenc...

nmfisher 3mo ago
Or he just finds it an incredible time-saving tool to help him do more maths.
- perching_aix 3mo ago
  The well-known shadowy bias and conflict of interest of "I just enjoy experimenting with this new thing".
  - deleted 3mo ago
    [deleted]
    - perching_aix 3mo ago
      I do not think he's shilling; I think you misread the tone of my comment. Added an extra word now to maybe make the intent clearer. That said, I do think "honeymoon phases" are a real source of bias. But then I don't think he's going through one of those either. He's been trying to leverage these models for a while now after all. He might still be under a more general "tech adoption trend" bias, but at that point I'd say the lines become a bit blurry.
sega_sai 3mo ago
When it comes to coding, non-programmers do not have to be in a defensive position worried that their job is under risk, instead they just see a great tool that saves them time, especially doing boring coding like dashboards, visualizations, interactive web-pages, or doing experiments that they otherwise would not have time for.
- hansmayer 3mo ago
  [dead]
- simonw 3mo ago
  A lot of mathematicians are worried: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/mathematicians-warn-of-ai-threats-to-profession-as-industry-encroaches/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/mathematicians-w...
  - jdright 3mo ago
    Mathematicians are a kind of programmers, the original ones.
    - lagrange77 3mo ago
      Why are mathematicians a kind of programmers? Besides applied maths, aren't they more researchers that explore and discover, in contrast to the majority of programmers who are more like handymen?
      - lanstin 3mo ago
        Metamathematics, by Kleene, is programming in maths. Theoretical computer science is maths. A lot of foundations work is programming. Coding itself is like an extended problem set from a maths class. LaTeX itself is programming. The difference to me is one of directionality - maths research is seeing a far off island and getting there by hook or by crook; bridge, draining the swamp, inventing an airplane or boat, whatever it takes. Software engineering is like covering a plain with tiles - every feature is ultimately filled in and the underlying beauty is obscured by a fractal of complexity required by the ever growing requirements.
        lagrange77 3mo ago
        > Metamathematics, by Kleene, is programming in maths. Ookay. Back in the day i was confused by 'Linear programming', which is optimisation and has nothing to do with coding. > every feature is ultimately filled in and the underlying beauty is obscured by a fractal of complexity required by the ever growing requirements. Right. I would say Mathematics tries to unobscure (patterns in) nature. Engineering is creating tools, sometimes leveraging natural patterns. But yeah, Fourier or Laplace definitely created tools, too.
hansmayer 3mo ago
[dead]

nmfisher 3mo ago

Or he just finds it an incredible time-saving tool to help him do more maths.

perching_aix 3mo ago
The well-known shadowy bias and conflict of interest of "I just enjoy experimenting with this new thing".
- deleted 3mo ago
  [deleted]
  - perching_aix 3mo ago
    I do not think he's shilling; I think you misread the tone of my comment. Added an extra word now to maybe make the intent clearer. That said, I do think "honeymoon phases" are a real source of bias. But then I don't think he's going through one of those either. He's been trying to leverage these models for a while now after all. He might still be under a more general "tech adoption trend" bias, but at that point I'd say the lines become a bit blurry.

sega_sai 3mo ago

When it comes to coding, non-programmers do not have to be in a defensive position worried that their job is under risk, instead they just see a great tool that saves them time, especially doing boring coding like dashboards, visualizations, interactive web-pages, or doing experiments that they otherwise would not have time for.

hansmayer 3mo ago
[dead]
simonw 3mo ago
A lot of mathematicians are worried: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/mathematicians-warn-of-ai-threats-to-profession-as-industry-encroaches/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/mathematicians-w...
- jdright 3mo ago
  Mathematicians are a kind of programmers, the original ones.
  - lagrange77 3mo ago
    Why are mathematicians a kind of programmers? Besides applied maths, aren't they more researchers that explore and discover, in contrast to the majority of programmers who are more like handymen?
    - lanstin 3mo ago
      Metamathematics, by Kleene, is programming in maths. Theoretical computer science is maths. A lot of foundations work is programming. Coding itself is like an extended problem set from a maths class. LaTeX itself is programming. The difference to me is one of directionality - maths research is seeing a far off island and getting there by hook or by crook; bridge, draining the swamp, inventing an airplane or boat, whatever it takes. Software engineering is like covering a plain with tiles - every feature is ultimately filled in and the underlying beauty is obscured by a fractal of complexity required by the ever growing requirements.
      - lagrange77 3mo ago
        > Metamathematics, by Kleene, is programming in maths. Ookay. Back in the day i was confused by 'Linear programming', which is optimisation and has nothing to do with coding. > every feature is ultimately filled in and the underlying beauty is obscured by a fractal of complexity required by the ever growing requirements. Right. I would say Mathematics tries to unobscure (patterns in) nature. Engineering is creating tools, sometimes leveraging natural patterns. But yeah, Fourier or Laplace definitely created tools, too.

hansmayer 3mo ago

[dead]