We still don't fully understand why Pepto Bismol and Tylenol work.
I'm a big fan of Tao. He must be so shaken by the AI storm that he's now writing arguments that even teenagers could quickly dismiss. A sad day.
I'm a big fan of Tao. He must be so shaken by the AI storm that he's now writing arguments that even teenagers could quickly dismiss. A sad day.
"Oh no! Not like that!"
- everyone with Very Strong opinions on mathematics academia when he talks about the thing they are (or consider themselves to be) experts in
He uses it (the drug cocktail) as an example on understanding and its role on evaluating alignment.
He poses this question
>Before injecting this cocktail into your bloodstream, would you find it reassuring to know that there is at least one human cancer expert who understands – even partially – the mechanism behind this cure?
To which I would answer 'well yes of course'.
And I believe that you would too. Greater understanding is a good thing and worth striving for in a changing landscape.
That is what he is advocating for within mathematics. Whether or not we currently understand the mechanism of action of Pepto or Tylenol is not really relevant to the core message.
But if we really want reassurance, I'd want to see drug trial data reviewed by the machine and a group of clinical trial experts.