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A Severe Misalignment of AI in Mathematics
(mathandai.org)
"We did it, Patrick! We made a technological breakthrough!"
A place for all those who loathe AI to discuss things, post articles, and ridicule the AI hype. Proud supporter of working people. And proud booer of SXSW 2024.
AI, in this case, refers to LLMs, GPT technology, and anything listed as "AI" meant to increase market valuations.
This is the same argument as why you shouldn't use an LLM to do your homework. The goal of doing the problems isn't to solve the problems (we can see they are already solved, the universe exists and calculates all kinds of exotic math all the time), it is for humans to understand the math
You shouldn't use an LLM to do your homework but you can certainly use it to learn and clarify things you don't understand. I teach math and physics and tested local LLMs for learning and I can say they really help, at least in these subjects. The best option is to learn from books and making your homework, but when you're stuck with something that you don't understand, ask a good LLM to clarify things, give examples and context. I tested myself while learning about differential geometry and relativity, it really speeds up the learning process and understanding. But don't use them as a primary source, nothing beats a good book and practice on that. I wish there was something like that when I was in college, I wouldn't have carried some misunderstandings so many years. Being just a tool it's up to you if you use it responsibly or not, as any other tool.