[crvdgc]

> imagine a folder full of skills that covers tasks like the following:

> Where to get US census data from and how to understand its structure

Reminds me of my first time using Wolfram Alpha and got blown away by its ability to use actual structured tools to solve the problem, compared to normal search engine.

In fact, I tried again just now and am still amazed: https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=what%27s+the+total+popu...

I think my mental model for Skills would be Wolfram Alpha with custom extensions.

[FireInsight]

When clicking your link, for me it opened the following query on Wolfram Alpha: `what%27s the total population of the United States%3F`

Funnily enough, this was the result: `6.1% mod 3 °F (degrees Fahrenheit) (2015-2019 American Community Survey 5-year estimates)`

I wonder how that was calculated...

[KeplerBoy]

Wolfram alpha never took input in such a natural language. But something like population(USA) and many variations thereof work.

[idk-92]

tbh wolfram alpha was the craziest thing ever. haven't done much research on how this was implemented back in the day but to achieve what they did for such complex mathematical problems without AI was kind of nuts

[globular-toast]

Wolfram Alpha is AI. It's just not an LLM. AI has been a thing since the 60s. LLMs will also become "not AI" in a few years probably.

[pjmlp]

It is basically another take on Lisp, and the development approach Lisp Machines had, repackaged in a more friendly syntax.

Lisp was the AI language until the first AI Winter took place, and also took Prolog alongside it.

Wolfram Alpha basically builds on them, to put in a very simplistic way.

[magicalhippo]

Would really like something selfhosted that does the basic Wolfram Alpha math things.

Doesn't need the craziest math capability but standard symbolic math stuff like expression reduction, differentiation and integration of common equations, plotting, unit wrangling.

All with an easy to use text interface that doesn't require learning.

[ge96]

I used it a lot for calc as it would show you how they got the answer if I remember right, also liked how it understands symbols which ibv but cool to paste an integral sign in there

[fooker]

> without AI

We only call it AI until we understand it.

Once we understand LLMs more and there's a new promising poorly understood technology, we'll call our current AI something more computer sciency

[NuclearPM]

Thank you for being honest.