i think the desire being expressed is to hear tao’s view on what is likely to happen on the various problems . as one of the most prominent mathematicians of our time his personal opinion would be valuable.
Pure math just doesn't work like that. Literally no one has any idea when XYZ problem will be proven - there's no way to know! It's not like building a stadium or a road or even a company , where you can see or anticipate the coming of a proof before it arrives. It could happen tomorrow or it could happen never. For example, of Hilbert's original 23 problems posed in 1900, three are still open.
Even if that's true that's a lot of avoidable drama.
These kinds of conversation works great for pushing addictive engagement but I doubt it does a lot of good.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lex-fridman-podcast/id...
And then there are other problems for which progress has been made over the past decades. At times, a weaker version may have been proved. Occasionally, new ideas emerge in the field regarding how to advance effectively. An upper or lower bound may be identified and gradually improved over time.
Of course, while no one can predict the future, making an educated guess is of course interesting. I would appreciate it if Terry could share his thoughts on such estimates.