Terence Tao Revives Old Java Applets and Builds New Tools with AI Coding Agents

Old and new apps, via modern coding agents by Terry Tao

I recently used modern AI coding agents to port my old Java applets from 1999 into functional JavaScript, bringing decades-old visualizations back to life with minimal bugs. The process was so efficient that I also resurrected an abandoned special relativity project and created a new tool for the Gilbreath conjecture, proving that AI is a powerful partner for rapid mathematical prototyping.

"After a couple hours of 'vibe coding' with an AI agent, I was finally able to generate an applet that matched the vision I had back in 1999."