Thread

1. metalspot · 1790401064 · focus · HN ↗

   There is a failure to understand that the process is the result. You don't study mathematics or computer science and information theory to produce commodities. You study them to transform your mind. The output of an LLM is useless without a human mind to comprehend it. We can have Super Intelligence, but if humans are incapable of comprehending it, it is just another useless dead artifact. Practice, applied over a lifetime, is what creates the capability for comprehension. Asking an LLM to give you an answer creates an artifact. Humans being humans, most of their requests boil down to "make me rich without having to work for it," so the request itself is paradoxical and impossible to satisfy. Philosophers have only been saying this for all of human history, so don't hold your breath for any breakthroughs.

   1. charcircuit · 1790402756 · focus · HN ↗

      >The output of an LLM is useless without a human mind to comprehend it

      This is like saying software is useless if the user doesn't read the source code of it. This what happens >99.99999% a person uses software. People want to be entertained or have their problems solved.

      1. robotpepi · 1790404236 · focus · HN ↗

         Your analogy doesn't work. A "product" in research pure math is not the same as writing code.

         1. charcircuit · 1790428079 · focus · HN ↗

            You can import a theorem that another paper proves without having to understand the mechanics of the proof itself.

            1. robotpepi · 1790430924 · focus · HN ↗

               if your goal in life is proving theorems, then sure, but we don't fund mathematics to check if each conceivable theorem is true/false.

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