Chapter 967: Chapter 352: A Web of Misery
"Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable!"
Tao Xuanzhi walked alongside his colleague Milnor from the University of California in the Hundred-year-old Lecture Hall at Yanbei University, passively receiving this sentence in his ears.
The words "unbelievable" and "extraordinary" had nearly worn his ears out.
Of course, although his reaction wasn’t as intense, his heart was also in turmoil.
Since learning the problem wasn’t created by Qiao Yu, but designed by an AI named July, he had repeatedly contemplated its brilliance in his mind.
It must be said, if there is indeed an AI footprint in that problem.
For instance, the knowledge points it examines are comprehensive, and the entry point for solving it was very innovative.
Just as July had summarized in the presentation, while it might not be able to create yet, it can very comprehensively and rigorously use known tools to assist mathematicians in proof and reasoning work.
As for his colleague’s meaningless lamentations, they simply didn’t register in his mind.
With thoughts swirling about how AI like July might revolutionize fundamental mathematics in the future, his eyes suddenly spotted Peter Schulz not far in front quietly conversing with another mathematics professor from Bonn University.
Ignoring Milnor’s continued exclamations, he directly called out, "Professor Schulz, do you have a moment?"
Peter Schulz turned his head to glance at Tao Xuanzhi, raised his hand to signal "OK," then chatted a bit more with his colleague before standing still to wait for Tao Xuanzhi.
"Peter, what’s your take?" Tao Xuanzhi asked directly after walking over.
"Actually, I had heard earlier that Professor Qiao was researching AI, but I wasn’t expecting the general AI—or let’s say the ability of July—to be so powerful. The concept of elementary mathematics truly shocked me,"
Peter Schulz remarked seriously.
"You got some news?"
"Yes, you know, I’ve collaborated with Microsoft Research Institute before on the Lean project.
Though this research was suspended due to some reasons, I’ve continued using Lean to verify particularly complex mathematical structures, ensuring the rigor of the proof process.
I’ve maintained contact with Professor Williams. Recently, I heard Xi Yu Technology sourced the Lean research archives.
Additionally, they also used Microsoft’s servers to test an AI project. Now it seems the project they tested was July presented today."
Tao Xuanzhi took a deep breath.
Well, he had indeed used Lean4.
It was during the collaborative proof of the polynomial Freiman–Ruzsa conjecture with Tim Grus, Ben Green, and several other mathematicians.
They used Lean4’s Blueprint tool to decompose the proof process into formalizable steps, gradually completing the entire formalization work of the proof.
Tao Xuanzhi even remembered he shared this process on a blog at the time and commented on the Lean4 project.
While Lean4 indeed played a significant role in verifying existing proofs, its abilities in discovering new proofs were extremely limited.
Or rather, this tool could only provide auxiliary support when mathematicians had a breakthrough idea.
Nonetheless, this development path was still commendable. It proved that AI tools and formal proof systems could indeed drive mathematical advances.
Especially in assisting mathematicians in solving complex mathematical problems.
At the time, he did hope Microsoft Research Institute would continue advancing Lean’s research.
Unfortunately, everyone knew what happened next.
The sudden emergence of the Tai Chi Series Quantum Simulation Computer dealt a devastating blow to companies like Intel, NVIDIA, and others.
This included Microsoft.
As Microsoft began shifting mainly toward gaming and cloud services, they massively cut funding for basic scientific research.
This especially affected Microsoft Research Institute’s funding for basic science research, including the Lean project.
At that time, he found it very regrettable, but there was no choice.
After all, it was difficult for technology companies like Microsoft and Google in those times; their research institute budgets were dramatically reduced.
The immediate result was the suspension of numerous projects and the sealing of archives, saying they might restart if the company was better off in the future.
But Tao Xuanzhi knew these claims were mere excuses.
Generally, if a project is sealed for over five years, restarting it is nearly impossible.
Loss of team and personnel, changes in external circumstances, company development strategy...
All of these impact these sealed projects.
Just like fifty years ago when West University carried out seven consecutive manned moon landings successfully, yet fifty years later with rapid technological advancements, it’s impossible for West University to conduct another moon landing.
As for restarting within five years...
Don’t kid yourself!
Given the situation at the time, five years weren’t nearly enough for these companies to overcome the crisis; it’d only grow harder.
After all, Huaxia held the standards.
Time proved Tao Xuanzhi’s suspicions right. None of the sealed projects restarted, and these high-tech companies were laying off employees in all sorts of creative ways annually.
There was no choice; that’s the cycle of business contraction. Tao Xuanzhi couldn’t criticize anything.
Ultimately, the core task of companies like Microsoft and Google is profit.
The prior investment in basic science research was to prepare for future profitability.
