[pfdietz]

> In order to get a Ph.D., you have to do some sort of original research,

China has now introduced "practical PhDs" where you have to build some practical machine instead.

[traes]

That is exclusive to engineering PhDs, entirely irrelevant to the discussion of math PhDs.

[pfdietz]

Unless, of course, the machine being constructed is the prover (and prompts) that proved the results (or achieved whatever result instead of the human achieving it.)