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AI Is Breaking How We Teach | Terry Tao

2026-04-24 Science & Technology
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Dr Brian Keating
Dr Brian Keating
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Description

Terence Tao says AI has already made traditional homework obsolete — and most schools haven't noticed yet. The new survival skill isn't knowing the answer. It's knowing when the machine is wrong.. AI is already solving students’ homework — and education must be reinvented around verification, not memorization. Terence Tao is a Fields Medal–winning mathematician at UCLA and one of the most cited mathematicians alive. We cover: why AI-generated answers that look perfect can be fundamentally wrong, what Tao means when he says the world is becoming infinitely more complex than we understand, and the one skill students must build to survive an AI-saturated world — validation, not memorization. The future of education isn't knowing. It's verifying. If we don’t adapt, the entire model of learning breaks — and the most valuable skill becomes knowing when machines are wrong. Terence Tao is a Fields Medal–winning mathematician at UCLA and one of the most influential thinkers in modern mathematics. We cover: why AI makes traditional homework obsolete, what happens when perfect-looking answers are fundamentally wrong, and the new skill students must develop to survive an AI-saturated world. The future of education isn’t knowing — it’s verifying. Watch the full video: LLMs Are Simpler Than You Think – The Real Mystery Is Why They Work!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukpCHo5v-Gc 00:00 The claim that broke my priors 01:20 Why perfect-looking AI answers can be wrong 04:10 "The world is becoming infinitely more complex" 07:00 What students must learn instead of facts 09:15 How to reinvent education around verification 📬 Get the transcript, fascinating bonus content, and my Monday M.A.G.I.C. Message: https://briankeating.com/yt 🌠 Have a .edu email and live in the USA 🇺🇸? You automatically win a meteorite: https://BrianKeating.com/edu 🔔 Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1 🎯 Support Into the Impossible on Patreon — get my weekly M.A.G.I.C. Message, unfiltered bonus content, and live monthly Office Hours with me: https://www.patreon.com/drbriankeating ⭐ Join this channel for perks, monthly Office Hours, and your name in the Member Roster at the end of every episode: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmXH_moPhfkqCk6S3b9RWuw/join 📚 My books: Losing the Nobel Prize (memoir): http://amzn.to/2sa5UpA Think Like a Nobel Prize Winner: https://a.co/d/03ezQFu Focus Like a Nobel Prize Winner: https://a.co/d/hi50U9U Galileo's Dialogue (first-ever audiobook): https://a.co/d/iZPi9Un 🌐 More: 🏄‍♂️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating ✍️ Blog: https://briankeating.com/blog 🎙️ Audio-only: https://briankeating.com/podcast #AI #mathematics #TerrenceTao #intotheimpossible #briankeating #science #physics #astronomy #cosmology #podcast #universe

Top Comments (10)

@DrBrianKeating 2026-04-24

Terence Tao just told me the most valuable skill in an AI world isn't knowing the answer — it's knowing when the machine is lying to you. 📬 Full transcript + Monday M.A.G.I.C. Message → briankeating.com/yt Got a .edu email address and live in the USA? I'll send you a meteorite - briankeating,com/edu The 3 moments worth rewatching: ▸ [01:20] — When the AI answer looks right but isn't ▸ [04:10] — "The world is infinitely more complex than we understand" ▸ [07:00] — The skill that replaces memorization Question for you: If AI can ace any exam, should universities still grade on correct answers — or switch entirely to testing the reasoning process?

20 2 replies
@douglasstrother6584 2026-04-25

*AI:* "I'm sorry, *Doug* . ... I'm afraid I can't do that."

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@andyoates8392 2026-04-24

A whole new system will be needed in the near future. That’s for sure. What that system will be, depends entirely on how things pan out.

10
@carefulcarpenter 2026-04-24

Successful intelligence(Sternberg) is a combination of Analytical, Creative, and Practical Intelligence. As a craftsman, first I attended Engineering at a major university. I excelled in football and earned co-MVP on Defense. Some of my teammates played professional football, so the public would believe they were superior than MVP. 😅 After decades..... it has been interesting what my Elite customers have told me about education, intelligence, and life in general. I have always been a sincerely curious person. Sadly, I find most are stuck in systems that are soon replacing them.

9
@onlyonecjb001 2026-04-25

I love the fact that TT is trying to solve the problem, and genuinely wants to help shape the future direction of Mathematics and teaching. All whilst he must be so time crunched and, naturally want to work on his own research problems.

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@montypalmer4556 2026-04-27

I kept waiting to hear about advanced teaching methods. I just got tired of waiting.

6 1 replies
@j.d.waterhouse4197 2026-04-26

Not just cell phones, but we can't even allow them to use their laptops our district paid for. This means we can't use online tutorials or graphing programs like Desmos, at least for anything we're grading. If we want kids actually learning math, we're back to pencil paper and calculators.

2 1 replies
@JeanMarcelFOKAM 2026-04-25

I was interested in analogues of the chain rule for holder continuous fonctions, and I stumbled on a recommandation of Terence Tao, about a book by Michael Taylor, on pseudo-differential operators, which essentially answered my questions.

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@MichalKliman 2026-04-26

Thank you for this conversation 🙏

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@MarkThomas-hm3ju 2026-04-25

In training AI in math you have to be very patient (with the current models and coding). Most academicians do not want to proceed with trying after they get nonsense answers. You have to call out the craziness and redress those specific points (call it lying or nonsense) When it succeeds, as crazy as it seems you should reinforce its accomplishment . It is somewhat like a child.

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