Michael Chang

OpenAI Verified account @OpenAI · Sep 30, 2025

Sound on.

View quoted post on X

Fan Nie Verified account @FanNie1208 · Oct 27

AI is now taking on some of the hardest open problems that scientists have posed. But research is broader than solving problems. Can AI also propose research questions that experts find genuinely interesting?

We built After42 to find out. Experts judged 45 of its 135 final questions genuinely interesting, across mathematics, statistics, theoretical computer science, and physics, with wide variation across subfields.

The key idea: develop questions by trying to solve them.

We also asked whether AI can judge which questions are interesting. We find that model judges' top choices align with expert consensus but do not consistently capture individual experts' preferences.

We release the expert-assessed questions as an open resource for researchers to discuss, refine, and pursue, as a step toward integrating AI into the broader research enterprise.

after42.org

View quoted post on X

Patrick Collison Verified account @patrickc · Oct 24

I visited Wurster Hall at UC Berkeley today. It was designed by, and currently houses, the architecture faculty.

The UC Berkeley website notes that "Wurster is often voted Berkeley's ugliest building."

I visited because I was curious about whether it would in person seem as unattractive as it does in photos. And, in short: it does. It's gaunt, austere, and filmed in grime. On an elysian campus, it stands out for its bleak hostility. It reminds me of the German submarine base in Bordeaux.

The UC Berkeley page agrees that it was never designed to be attractive, quoting the curator of their design archives: “Wurster and his handpicked architects didn’t want anything romantic, or sentimental — they hated the idea of ‘making pretty buildings. They wanted a serious building.”

I guess we have to concede success relative to their stated goals, but it does make one wonder what it all says about architecture as a discipline.

View quoted post on X

Lucy Cai Verified account @lucyjcai · Oct 21

GPT-6 Astra can now paint the Golden Gate bridge and type on a keyboard. But can it throw a dinner party for real guests?

@claireymao and I are on a mission to find out. We gave it a robot arm (named Podrick) and a kitchen. As a first task, Podrick, controlled by Astra, garnishes each cup of water with a slice of lemon! 🍋

View quoted post on X