About whether coding models are really PhD-expert level when they make boneheaded mistakes.
Has this happened?
Yes 40 (32%)Not sure 40 (32%)No 46 (37%)
Votes cast 1–2 October 2026: 100,590 votes from 9,694 people.
Hacker News has set AI a lot of challenges over the years. Which ones has it met?
About whether coding models are really PhD-expert level when they make boneheaded mistakes.
Votes cast 1–2 October 2026: 100,590 votes from 9,694 people.
Because it's not "PhD-expert level" at all, lol. Even the biggest models (Mythos, GPT-Pro, Gemini DeepThink) are nowhere near the level of effort that would be expected in a PhD dissertation, even in their absolute best domains. Telling it to work out a plan first is exactly how you would supervise an eager but not-too-smart junior coder. That's what AI is like, even at its very best.