This summer, battle lines were drawn over a simple math problem: 8 ÷ 2(2 + 2) = ? If you divide 8 by 2 first, you get 16, but if you multiply 2 by (2 + 2) first, you get 1. So, which answer is right?

With AlphaTensor, DeepMind Technologies has presented an AI system that is supposed to independently find novel, efficient and provably correct algorithms for complex mathematical tasks. AlphaTensor ...