“There isn’t an LLM that will get you through enormously difficult physical challenges… We have to take the same approach to intellectual development. It’s got to hurt a bit.” Niall Ferguson on what we should learn from Navy SEALs. Austin Union

I agree with this. Education is of necessity aporetic to a considerable extent in that one regularly finds oneself at a loss if one is advancing. I think, however, that in certain contexts LLMs can be used to produce obstacles that require the exercise of critical judgment in addition to offering shortcuts around them.

@nfergus @austin_union Irony it's the brains of intellectual giants - their books/theories/thoughts - that are being fed into insatiable Ai LLMs that will ultimately stop us thinking as we 𝘢𝘭𝘭 have access to sum of greatest thinkers through our phones, Ai will replace willingness/necessity to think

@nfergus @austin_union but if the LLMs are going to do ALL THE THINKING ... why do we need to learn ANYTHING AT ALL? ... once the LLMs/robots 'learn' to make better LLMs/robots, we humans are out of the picture ... right now, humans are stuck in a cul de sac ..

It's not the pain, it's the sacrifice of everything at any moment for anything that requires you to defend civilization - transcendence is the word. Your family, your goods, your health, no matter what, you should always be ready to make the sacrifice of yourself for something bigger than you. The last time I checked, academics are not doing this, nor are they even trying. In fact, they oppose it.

@nfergus @austin_union pr, he could have got AI to explain those areas he struggled with, it would have saved him time....

@nfergus @austin_union Trying to understand a new system from the perspective of the old system always ends in disaster.