Mathematicians will probably become obsolete before anyone else [pdf]

Several commenters flagged that the PDF is a handwritten Unabomber letter and argued about the value of its predictions. applplication emphasized the context - that it was written by Ted Kaczynski and not originally about LLMs - while sdevonoes conceded he "got many things right (except you know what)." ButlerianJihad insisted Kaczynski accurately foresaw developments like LLMs, framing him as prophetic. Others rejected that halo: GPerson and karmakurtisaani called his thinking lazy or conspiratorial, and burnt-resistor argued his violent prescriptions erased any legitimate critique, saying he should have pursued constructive, scholarly, or community-based channels instead of terrorism.

The conversation split sharply over technology, jobs, and political tactics. metalman warned that fields such as cartography and translation have already contracted and are vulnerable to centralization under closed-source tools. burnt-resistor doubted imminent AGI, highlighted hallucinations and lack of reliability in current models, and attacked techno-optimism and “worship” of billionaires; bs439 countered that automation is already outpacing experts in markets. donkey_brains noted high-frequency trading predates current LLMs and condemned violence as a protest tactic, while applfanboysbgon argued that even moderate, non-violent protest can become a political lightning rod, a point burnt-resistor disputes as excusing alienating behavior.