About That Erdős Problem
6 hours ago
- #AI Ethics
- #Mathematical Research
- #Social Contract
- OpenAI's announcement of a counterexample to the Erdős unit distance conjecture in under five pages, with comments from nine prominent mathematicians, sparked discussion.
- The week featured significant AI-related news, including OpenAI and Anthropic gearing up for IPOs, SpaceX's filings, and Eric Schmidt facing backlash at college commencements.
- Concerns about AI's societal impact were highlighted, such as potential political backlash by 2028, regulatory delays, and issues like bad code generation and environmental costs.
- Mathematicians' responses varied: Victor Wang questioned the social contract between mathematicians and AI companies regarding freely available work being used for financial gain.
- Melanie Matchett Wood urged caution about drawing conclusions from AI announcements without context on AI errors, while Tim Gowers noted efficiency and environmental concerns.
- The author emphasized the need for mathematicians to engage in public debate on AI, referencing quotes on ownership, control, and profit-sharing from AI built on collective data and work.
- The piece calls for building a social contract between mathematics and AI, viewing AI as a source of new challenges and connections to benefit mathematical research and ethics.