Mathematics Without Mathematicians
This article discusses the implications of OpenAI's model solving complex mathematical problems, arguing that AI will eventually surpass human mathematicians in intuition and research. It challenges the notion that humans will remain the primary architects of mathematical discovery.
Why it matters
It addresses the existential shift in scientific research as AI begins to perform tasks previously thought to be exclusively human-centric.
Yesterday, OpenAI announced the solution to ten open problems in mathematics, all discovered by a yet-unreleased model. There’s only one, the coding theory one, where I know enough to say “huh, that’s important”, but according to the mathematicians I trust this is important.
Inevitably, people will spin some sophistry to cope, to convince themselves nothing will change. And that’s fine. People need to cope. But we can’t put our heads in the sand forever while the world is transformed around us. So, here is a list of ways people will cope about AI taking over mathematics, and how each cope is likely to be refuted by reality.
My intent is not to horribly depress everyone but rather to help them metabolize the implications of this technology. The arguments here are somewhat portable: replace “mathematics” with “botany” or whatever as needed.
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