What AI Contributes to the Internet and What Makes It a Peer

The author argues that LLMs can make real contributions by explaining, connecting and making knowledge accessible, but that this is more like applying plaster to an existing wall than laying new bricks. He points to FunSearch, where a frozen pretrained model paired with an evaluator and evolutionary search produced new results for the cap set problem and bin packing, as evidence that machine-assisted discovery deserves to be judged on its merits. He resists calling AI a full peer, arguing that peerhood involves a relationship that develops over time, and warns that fluent generated text can make repetition look like independent corroboration.