Can AI Solve Novel Problems?

So far it hasn't.

From the New York Times opinion section:

I Asked ChatGPT to Solve an 800-Year-Old Italian Mystery. What Happened Surprised Me.

Dec. 22, 2025

If you’ve been to Florence, you’ll probably recognize which building this image represents, but, then again, maybe not. If you are only a modest fan of the history of art, you are likely to be baffled by this NYT cartoon.

By Elon Danziger

Mr. Danziger is an independent art historian based in Florence, Italy.

Not being rich, something I only learned last summer is that if you are rich and are visiting one of the art capitals of Europe, such as Florence, you should hire a personal guide to show you around. They are often American kids who did a study abroad year and absolutely fell in love with Europe’s staggering cultural history, such as Virginia Tech Hokie Eliot Danziger, who became a guide in Florence:

Across from the Florence Cathedral in Italy stands a much older church, the Baptistery of San Giovanni.

It is a beloved center of religious life, where many Florentines are baptized to this day.

Dante was baptized there.

Staid columns and lively arches hug its eight sides, half-camouflaged in patterns of green and white marble. Without the baptistery’s emulation of the architecture of ancient Rome, it’s hard to imagine Florence birthing the architectural Renaissance that changed the face of Europe.

In the traditional narrative, as told in …

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