Crank Papers

In a discussion on the Lex Fridman Podcast, François Chollet mentions the phenomenon of "crank papers" particularly in the context of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). He describes scenarios where individuals write comprehensive manifestos claiming to have created AGI systems or know how to do so. These outputs sometimes feel as though they could have been generated by AI systems due to their nature. Chollet humorously notes that you might have a transformer generating such crank papers about AI. This conversation points out the challenge in AI and tech fields where exaggerated or unfounded claims can create confusion and hype1.