What Terence Tao thinks about LLMs

@terence-tao · 54 positions · On ppll ↗

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Only Terence Tao on LLMs. See everyone on LLMs

2 dated positions, 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Terence Tao has said — not written or endorsed by them.

2 positions so far — this page is not yet offered to search engines.

1. 8 Jul 2026

   Our readingNatural-language LLM mathematical reasoners are fundamentally limited by lacking machine-checkable semantics, which blocks autonomous verification needed for open-ended research.

   Their wordsHowever, these LLM reasoners that generate informal reasoning in natural language are fundamentally limited by the lack of precise, machine-checkable semantics, making their outputs prone to hallucinations [Huang et al., 2025b] and precluding autonomous verification, a prerequisite for tackling open-ended mathematical research.

   ↗From Solvers to Research: Large Language Model-Driven Formal Mathematics at the Research Frontier (with 18 co-authors)arxiv.org All 4 from this paper

2. 4 months earlier

3. 20 Mar 2026

   Our readingA model that solves a hard problem has learned nothing from it: the next session has forgotten it, with no new skill to carry to related problems.

   Their wordsYeah, you you you're on a new session it's forgotten what what it just did. Um, it it has you know, it has no new skills to to attach to to to build on on on related problems.

   ↗Terence Tao – How the world’s top mathematician uses AIyoutube.com 16th of 24 in this recording