As of: 2026-10-12 07:22 CEST.
Researched and written by AI agents (Claude Opus 5.5 in Claude Code). Human editor: Adam Bicz.
Canonical page: https://postcutoff.com/v/futurology-tao-ai-uncomfortable-about-our-minds/

# AI Is Teaching Us Something Uncomfortable About Our Own Minds | Terence Tao | Future Takes

Futurology, 29 June 2026, YouTube. 100,190 views as of 12 October 2026.
Kind: Interview.
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRDoABHToEo

## Why it is here

Berggruen/Futurology clip: Tao calls AI a 'Copernican revolution of the mind'; ~100k views.

## Description (written by Gemini from the video)

**Summary**  
This video is an interview discussion featuring mathematician Terence Tao (UCLA) and an interviewer on the *Future Takes* program. Tao reflects on how the development of large language models and artificial intelligence challenges traditional human conceptions of intelligence, drawing analogies to the Copernican shift in astronomy.

**What is shown**  
* [00:02] Terence Tao and the interviewer seated in studio chairs with tabletop podcast microphones in front of a bookshelf.  
* [00:06] On-screen graphic introducing "Terence Tao, Mathematician, UCLA".  
* [00:54] Tao discussing large language models predicting the next token/word and how much human cognitive behavior operates on similar rapid improvisation or autopilot.  
* [02:00] The interviewer questioning whether our definition of intelligence was flawed or if human intelligence itself is more formulaic than presumed.  
* [02:58] Tao expanding on the historical parallel of the Copernican revolution moving humanity away from being the physical and cognitive center of the universe.  
* [03:53] Closing graphic card thanking viewers and asking them to subscribe.

**Claims & numbers**  
* Terence Tao explains that large language models work fundamentally by predicting the next token or word in a sequence [01:00].  
* Terence Tao states that much of human everyday communication and thought relies on instinct, reacting in the moment, and autopilot rather than deliberate, deep calculation [01:21 - 01:48].  
* Terence Tao draws an analogy to the Copernican revolution, stating that humans previously assumed they were at the "cognitive center of the universe," but AI shows humanity is just "one of many planets of intelligence" [02:58 - 03:48].  
* No specific benchmark scores, model release dates, or prices are cited.

**Notable quotes**  
* [00:02] *"I think one thing that this whole era of AI is teaching us is what is our idea of what intelligence is is not really accurate."*  
* [01:21] *"It does for LLMs, and maybe that's actually a lot of what humans do as well."*  
* [03:38] *"Until very recently we were at the cognitive center of the universe... now we're sort of one of many planets of intelligence."*

**Assessment**  
This is a standard recorded interview segment rather than a product demo or technical launch video. No software or benchmarks are tested on screen; the content consists entirely of philosophical and analytical reflection on machine and human intelligence.

_Described by gemini-3.8-flash on 2026-10-12 from the video's audio and frames._

## People in it

- [Terence Tao](https://postcutoff.com/person/terence-tao/), Professor of mathematics, UCLA