# AI is wonderful and will make your life better! (not) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** ai\ **Created:** [July 20, 2025, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117 "2025-07-20T16:40:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 42
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/821 "2026-02-27T01:50:52Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > So now the entire application and screening process is a couple of bots fighting it out, which is obviously a terrible way to find the right hire for your company. I’ve been on the search committee side of this lately and IT SUCKS! Cover letters and resumes written by AI specifically for that unique position description. You can have dozens of resumes that look nearly identical. You’d think you could just toss all those, but then you have none left. It’s bad, particularly in the IT/cloud field. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/822 "2026-02-27T02:31:51Z")
I’m still writing my cover letters in my own words. I did apply for one job, didn’t get a reply yet, but if they have to sort through thousands it might be a while. I exceeded their preferred qualifications, so any day now… ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/823 "2026-02-27T02:34:20Z")
I was on a recent search committee for a comms position and thank god that those applicants still wrote their own stuff (I assume some AI was used). Good on you for that. It was refreshing to read content written by humans. IT/cloud ops searches SUCK right now. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/824 "2026-02-27T03:15:48Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > However the way they do inferential math is really interesting. It’s nothing at all like knowing that 2+2=4 due to repeated exposure, apparently it uses [some kind of helical representation](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/E7z89FKLsHk5DkmDL/language-models-use-trigonometry-to-do-addition-1) of numbers and then uses modular transformations to compute it. So yes, its inference can “do math”, though it’s not exactly “doing arithmetic”, and it will punt to external tools for more elaborate computations. Though how and why it delegates to external tools isn’t always clear or consistent (at least for the math part). This was fascinating (the helical part), and it sent me off to watch one of the authors present the paper. (like a lot of smart people he’s kind of a terrible explainer, but he gets a lot of helpful questions) [Language Models Use Trigonometry to Do Addition @ DLCT](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ51eliXstU) I think I might object to the word ‘use’, but for the mathy, what they did was: - Grab the 1x4000 representation vectors (“embeddings”) for the numbers 0 through 99 from different models. - They applied Fourier transforms to look for periodicity within the embeddings and discovered 4 ‘peaks’ (there’s a graph). - They then created parametric models to fit the embeddings, mainly a helix model (4 sine+cos terms to represent the peaks and a linear term), plus some others, and showed that the helical model performed best in tests. Even if you’re not with me to this point, an important observation: the paper and the talk both use this clock algorithm at 44:00 to describe how numbers are added in an LLM. But that’s a theory - it explains the results, but as he goes on to say, they can’t see it happening or even concretely describe how it happens. So, they still don’t know how adding two small numbers actually happens. Also, the LLM success rates for the three models adding two numbers of 1 or 2 digits were 98%, 80%, and 78%. Thanks for posting that, really interesting. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/825 "2026-02-27T04:04:27Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > One approach is to regulate the shit out of AI and its use. How do we complete the following sentence: And when unregulated Chinese companies start to wipe the floors, we . . . Even if that wouldn’t happen, can you convince a majority of Congress that it’s not going to? Who decides which AI use is allowed and what is illegal and needs to result in massive fines? I can’t imagine the regulatory hell that this would spawn. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > One approach is to regulate the shit out of grants. How? How do you enforce this, even if you could pass regulations in the first place, and even if the regulations could pass legal challenges? I don’t have any good answers, but I just don’t see how these ideas have even the tiniest merit. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/826 "2026-02-27T06:37:12Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > And when unregulated Chinese companies start to wipe the floors, we . . . wipe the floors with us, we . . . I just don’t see how to regulate AI in fields such as grant writing. What regulations could you enact? What is prohibited? What is allowed? How is it enforced? How can it be detected? Who is in charge of enforcement? Do we want the government to have that level of authority and control? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/827 "2026-02-27T12:40:24Z")
I’m pretty sure that there’s only two choices: We _do_ figure out a way of controlling AI misuse, or society outright collapses in a flood of AI-driven fraud, lies and bugs until it regresses to the point AI is no longer possible. I’m betting on the former, outside of the suicidally _laissez faire_ America at least. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/828 "2026-02-27T13:29:24Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > How do we complete the following sentence: And when unregulated Chinese companies start to wipe the floors, we . . . I’m not on track to solve our societal AI problems in a Pit thread. The first three steps I described in the post you’re responding to haven’t happened yet, and they are prerequisites for any solution. That said, I’m far from convinced that generalized AI infiltration into all industries will lead to a more efficient society, and if regulating AI means that happens less here than in China, well, don’t threaten me with a good time. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/829 "2026-02-27T13:40:29Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > How do we complete the following sentence: And when unregulated Chinese companies start to wipe the floors, we . . . It’s more like “And when regulated Chinese companies start to wipe the floors, we . . .” Chinese companies are _more_ likely to be regulated by the government, not less. China deciding to _not_ passively let AI destroy their country is a reason why they will continue pulling out ahead of the US in power and influence. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/830 "2026-02-27T13:57:52Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > China deciding to _not_ passively let AI destroy their country is a reason why they will continue pulling out ahead of the US in power and influence. Wait – so your contention is that by refusing to develop and deploy the latest technology, China will pull ahead of the US? Fortunately for China, the reality is the exact opposite. **[China wants to become the global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) by 2030](https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PEA4012-1.html)**. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/831 "2026-02-27T14:26:30Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Thanks for posting that, really interesting. Great synopsis, thanks for breaking it down @Maserschmidt. And for posting it @HMS_Irruncible ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/832 "2026-02-27T14:38:30Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Wait – so your contention is that by refusing to develop and deploy the latest technology, China will pull ahead of the US? > > Fortunately for China, the reality is the exact opposite. **[China wants to become the global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) by 2030](https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PEA4012-1.html)**. The latest scam, not the latest technology. The “future of AI” is going to be ripping it all out and replacing it with _actual functioning_ technology. Instead of something that works like a reverse Midas touch, turning everything it contacts to garbage. And China will be at the forefront of that, even assuming that it isn’t just pushing AI rhetorically just to help the US sabotage itself. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/833 "2026-02-27T14:56:32Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > The latest scam, not the latest technology. The “future of AI” is going to be ripping it all out and replacing it with _actual functioning_ technology. Meh. AI does have plenty of use cases where it actually makes things better–e.g., locating patterns in data that humans are bad at locating. It’s just that its billionaire boosters and their fanboys make it hard to see the gold amid all the dross. A place like competitive grantwriting–a zero-sum game with winners and losers–is not such a place. The introduction of AI into the process won’t benefit the grant writers, the grant-givers, or the beneficiaries of the grants; it’ll only enrich the AI writers once they monetize their products. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/834 "2026-02-27T16:26:19Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > A place like competitive grantwriting–a zero-sum game with winners and losers–is not such a place. Unfortunately, we’re already there, in a much bigger space where employers and job applicants are both competing for AI supremacy, with nary a human to be found to do initial applicant screening. ETA: This is not a world that I favour. It’s the world that we have. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/835 "2026-02-27T16:37:38Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > How? How do you enforce this, even if you could pass regulations in the first place, and even if the regulations could pass legal challenges? To add to this, we already regulate the shit out of grants. It’s hard to imagine them being more regulated. Federal grants in particular are already regulated by 2CFR Part 200 of the OMB which is a two hundred page document that describes everything grant recipients have to do. All federal grants are regulated by that document (which Trump is rewriting, yay!) and that’s only the first layer of regulation. Each individual government department adds its own regulations on top of that. And if you’re receiving the grant through the state as federal pass-through funding, you have to meet state regulations, too. This is why the Trump administration narrative about fraudulent and irresponsible government funding is so ridiculous. Sure, people fuck up sometimes, but it’s not for want of regulation. It’s more of a blatant disregard for existing regs. As for me, I guess I have to figure out some other job to do when mine becomes obsolete. Everything I’ve ever done has had some variation of “writer” in it, and it’s hard to think of a less valued skill right now. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/836 "2026-02-27T18:19:57Z")
Look eBay, all I want to do is to try to sell this duplicate gaming mat I accidentally bought for most of what it cost me. I don’t want to use your crappy AI system that I can’t seem to figure out how to bypass to try to make $50 back. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/837 "2026-02-27T20:14:26Z")
Calling WA’s Department of Licensing customer service line, and pressing 2 for Spanish, will get you an AI voice speaking English in a Spanish accent. > **[Callers to Washington state hotline press 2 for Spanish and get accented AI...](https://apnews.com/article/washington-dol-spanish-accent-ai-3a1b8438a5674c07242a8d48c057d5a3)** > > Callers to Washington state’s driver’s license agency who select automated service in Spanish are instead hearing an AI voice speaking English with a strong Spanish accent. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/838 "2026-02-27T20:45:55Z")
Wonder if it was the children of the geniuses responsible for this: > **[Did HUD publish a brochure in “Creole” containing a parody of black speech?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342506/did-hud-publish-a-brochure-in-creole-containing-a-parody-of-black-speech)** > **[Rezedents Rights & Rispansabilities: The rest of the story](https://www.straightdope.com/21342508/em-rezedents-rights-rispansabilities-em-the-rest-of-the-story)** ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2026, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/839 "2026-03-01T13:47:38Z")
Claude was used to attack Iran! See, I told y’all it could be used for really important things. [https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-used-anthropics-claude-ai-in-iran-strikes-hours-after-trumps-ban-report-iran-israel-us-war-donald-trump-vs-anthropic-11153230](https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-used-anthropics-claude-ai-in-iran-strikes-hours-after-trumps-ban-report-iran-israel-us-war-donald-trump-vs-anthropic-11153230) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117/840 "2026-03-02T21:19:43Z")
Getting away from silly “Does my out-of-date AI know if a number is prime or not” tasks, the team at Math Inc was able to formalize a Fields Medal winning proof using Gauss, a math-centric AI platform. Choice quotes (the below article isn’t that long, btw) 😛 > [@](#): > > # Completing the formal proof of higher-dimensional sphere packing > > Using Gauss, we have helped formally verify the sphere packing problem in dimensions 8 and 24 — certifying that the E8 lattice and the Leech lattice achieve the densest possible arrangements of non-overlapping spheres in their respective dimensions. > > … > > In 2024, the project to formalize the 8-dimensional solution was launched jointly by Sidharth Hariharan and Maryna Viazovska. Together with Chris Birkbeck, Seewoo Lee, Gareth Ma and Bhavik Mehta, they wrote a detailed blueprint and developed an extensive codebase consisting of new definitions and theorems about sphere packings, lattices, and (quasi)modular forms that were absent from Mathlib. > > We first began collaborating with the Sphere Packing maintainers in November 2025. After successfully proving several facts about modular forms, radial Schwartz functions, and basic sphere packing theory using a previous version of Gauss, we set our sights on a more ambitious goal: completing the remainder of the project. > > In just 5 days, Gauss automatically proved all remaining results needed to verify the result in 8 dimensions. The Sphere Packing team estimated that the 8-dimensional case alone would have taken six more months of work with existing tools. In two weeks, Gauss then autoformalized the 24-dimensional case using only the original paper as input, performing autonomous literature searches when needed. This brought the total sphere packing formalization from 70k to ~200k lines. > > Along the way, Gauss autonomously proved numerous important facts about modular forms, discrete geometry, contour integration and Fourier analysis. Gauss’s contribution to this project has accelerated the verification of this extraordinary result at an unprecedented pace. This is a historic achievement in autoformalization. They also go into some other details in their Twitter announcement, including: > [@](#): > > One week later, Gauss autonomously formalized Viazovska’s proof that the optimal sphere packing in dimension 24 is given by the Leech Lattice. Gauss’ original proof consisted of 450K lines of Lean code, based on the original paper and 20+ additional references. > > Gauss independently reasoned through the proofs, autonomously fixing underlying misformalizations. In completing the proof, it also detected and fixed minor errors in the Annals published paper: a missing minus sign in the calculation of b(t) for Prop 7, and a flawed definition of g in Theorem 4. > > Verifying Fields Medal-level mathematics demonstrates that AI agents like Gauss are ready to accelerate the frontiers of mathematical research. Scaling autoformalization will transform mathematical knowledge and discovery by making the full landscape of known results searchable, composable, and machine-navigable. Article: [https://www.math.inc/sphere-packing/](https://www.math.inc/sphere-packing/) Twitter thread: [https://x.com/mathematics\_inc/status/2028542388717986135?s=20](https://x.com/mathematics_inc/status/2028542388717986135?s=20) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117.md?page=41) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ai-is-wonderful-and-will-make-your-life-better-not/1021117.md?page=43)