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OpenAI GPT–6 Astra breaks Enigma message that has resisted solution since 2005

738 points · 448 comments · sohkamyung

  1. jtrn · · focus · HN ↗
    The correct title: Researcher brakes one specific stubborn historic enigma message with good help from Astra.

    Stubborn for a long time because the message used a completely different key from the rest of that day's traffic. Everyone assumed it shared the daily key. The original transcription had errors. The left rotor turned over at letter 72, which is rare and breaks standard crib attacks.

    What is cool, if true, is that it was a 2 day collab between the Leffer and Astra. To me this shows the importance of human in the loop, was still all also showing how immensely power of llm tools. But I think it’s getting a bit silly how much anrticles ignores the driving force (the person) in breakthroughs like this.

    1. shuvrojit · · focus · HN ↗
      I agree with this. I think the researchers who's harnessing the llm's power should be credited more than the model itself. We also need to understand the thought process and the prompts that are given to the model so we can learn and collab to ensure humanity's progress as much as the llm itself.
      1. TeMPOraL · · focus · HN ↗
        > I think the researchers who's harnessing the llm's power should be credited more than the model itself.

        Even when the report literally says the LLM did it on its own?

        Let's not over-correct in the direction of knowing better than the first party.

        1. jfyi · · focus · HN ↗
          > the report literally says the LLM did it on its own

          Not mention it also says this...

          > We are still analysing the GPT–6 Astra logs to see exactly how it executed the break.

          1. [deleted] · · focus · HN ↗

            [deleted]

      2. ricksunny · · focus · HN ↗
        ‘knowing what problems are worth solving —- priceless”.

        For everything else, there’s Astracard

        1. 0c3ca83z · · focus · HN ↗

          [dead]

        2. dev_tty01 · · focus · HN ↗
          It also decided which problem to solve:

          "After analysing the unbroken messages on the website, it decided that the most promising message was Nr. 172, MVUEH and it also quickly suspected that the plaintext of Nr. 173, SIPVX ..."

      3. dyauspitr · · focus · HN ↗
        Why? Sounds like they played no role in solving it besides presenting the problem.
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