PAYPAL CO-FOUNDER SAYS AI WILL BE WORSE FOR THE MATH PEOPLE THAN THE WRITERS

There is a long-standing debate about the future of AI and how it will coexist with humans. While some researchers believe AI will help humans by easing their workload, many predict AI will take over human jobs, including those of writers. Offering a fresh perspective on AI's capabilities, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel predicts that the rise of artificial intelligence will have a more significant impact on maths-focused professions than those reliant on writing skills.

In a recent interview on the latest episode of "Conversations with Tyler" with Tyler Cowen, Thiel predicts that within three to five years, AI models will be capable of solving all the problems presented in the US Math Olympiad. This advancement could greatly alter the way maths is practised and perceived, potentially displacing traditional roles and careers in the field.

"My intuition would be it's going to be quite the opposite, where it seems much worse for the maths people than the word people," Thiel said. "What people have told me is that they think within three to five years, the AI models will be able to solve all the US Math Olympiad problems. That would shift things quite a bit," said Thiel.

Theils's prediction challenges the current dominance of maths in many industries, especially tech giants like those in Silicon Valley. "If I fast-forwarded to, let's say, Silicon Valley in the early 21st century, it's way too biassed toward the maths people," Thiel said. Thiel argues that Silicon Valley suffers from an overemphasis on maths skills, often using them as the sole benchmark for competency. 

He further questions the true correlation between mathematical prowess and real-world capabilities. "It's like if you want to go to medical school, okay, we weed people out through physics and calculus, and I'm not sure that's really correlated with your dexterity as a neurosurgeon. I don't really want someone operating on my brain to be doing prime number factorizations in their head while they're operating on my brain," he further stated.

Thiel even shared a parallel from his own experience with chess. In his youth, he believed chess mastery should be a universal test-a bias he readily admits. "Why even do maths? Why not just chess?" His bias was undermined by the computers in 1997 when IBM's Deep Blue defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov. Hence, Thiel sees a similar fate for human dominance in complex maths problems, suggesting AI will render these skills less valuable and pave the way for a "long-overdue rebalancing" of our society.

Thiel's view on AI taking over maths challenges conventional views on AI's impact, urging society to reconsider its priorities. While the impact of AI on writing and white collar jobs is still being debated, it appears that the implications for mathematical disciplines may be more imminent. 

Notably, Peter Thiel started his career in the tech industry by co-founding PayPal in 1998. He then moved on to various other ventures, including those related to artificial intelligence. In 2003, Thiel also co-founded Palantir Technologies, a company that supplies AI models to global military forces, including those in Ukraine and Israel.

2024-04-18T06:47:08Z dg43tfdfdgfd