Ask HN: As AI becomes more capable what's the value of knowledge?
I genuinely don't know. I'm currently upskilling myself with Math Academy but I am wondering whether it makes any sense. I like the discipline and grit aspect of it though and I'm making great strides in that. So not stopping anytime soon. But I do wonder what the value will be in understanding something like math if an AI can understand it this well.
Why do we have the Olympics when we have machines? Why do we have libraries? Why do we have gyms? There will always be humans who want to know, and in some capacity, be strong and find their limits; sometimes physically, sometimes mentally.
Erdemli A, Audrin C, Sander D. An Integrative Appraisal Model of Epistemic Curiosity. Affect Sci. 2025 Nov 13;6(4):714-725. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42761-025-00328-7 PMID: 41694073; PMCID: PMC12894534.
In a world where AI can answer questions and solve problems, the ones still employed are the ones who know which problems are worth solving and why. We cannot ask the AI a nonsensical question and expect a useful output. Knowledge and skills are what let us ask sensible questions and detect mistakes by the LLM, therefore, we must maintain them.
Those who let their skills atrophy because "The AI can do it" will become valueless.
Do you remember the last time you used trigonometry or solved a quadratic equation in a real world scenario? That's basic math and it already has limited value. Also, see here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49405904
Yeah, I wonder why they taught us arithmetic when calculators invented, we would have been totally fine being vegetables