To Grieve, or Not to Grieve?
8 hours ago
- AI is rapidly transforming mathematics, solving problems humans could not, causing varied reactions among mathematicians.
- Mathematicians exhibit grief stages: denial (e.g., Association for Human Mathematics, Scholze), anger (e.g., Vlad Lazic), bargaining (Advisory Group recommendations to labs), and depression (e.g., researchers considering leaving).
- The debate on why humans do mathematics: Thurston emphasizes human understanding, Hardy sees it as art, while the author values theorem tally.
- The author calls for OpenAI to release their collection of theorems to avoid wasted effort and enable understanding, signing an open letter.
- Author is optimistic: machines excel at problem solving but are limited in theory building and conjecture; expects a natural boundary will eventually be reached.
- Author encourages embracing AI to explore new frontiers, despite some finding the idea abhorrent.