I know why Mathematicians weep
This piece explores the emotional and professional impact on mathematicians following OpenAI's release of numerous complex mathematical proofs. It discusses the existential anxiety felt by researchers as AI begins to solve problems that have challenged humans for centuries.
Why it matters
It highlights the growing tension between rapid AI advancement and the traditional academic fields that rely on human intellectual labor.
Photo by Wiki Sinaloa on Unsplash In the last few months, OpenAI has stunned the mathematical community with the publication of hundreds of math findings. Many of these proofs, which span number theory, theoretical computer science, and logic, had stumped the world’s best mathematicians for decades, or centuries.
The reaction from the math community has been a mix of indignation, astonishment, and sorrow. “Tuesday night, I cried and it woke up my daughter,” said Hugo Duminil-Copin, the recipient of the 2022 Fields Medal, after OpenAI’s October release. “They have annihilated my field of research.”
“I literally cried when I spoke to Wired a few weeks ago,” said Steven Strogatz, a mathematician and author at Cornell University. “People are using language like ‘they’re strip-mining our subject’ or ‘they’re nuking the landscape.’ The feeling is disorientation. I’m discombobulated some days. I’m exhilarated some days. And there is enormous grief.”
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