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PodcastEconomist PodcastsOctober 16, 2026

Schrödinger’s chat: can AI and scientists co-exist?

AI's sudden mastery of unsolved maths problems signals a broader, faster-than-expected disruption of the scientific research process itself.

  • Mathpocalypse arrives: OpenAI used an unreleased model to publish hundreds of solutions to previously unsolved maths problems, dubbed the "mathpocalypse" by Scott Aronson.
  • Reinforcement learning + LLMs: A technique barely a year old—combining Demis Hassabis's Nobel-winning reinforcement learning approach with large language models—now drives rapid gains in maths, computer science, and physics.

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