Every one of the mathematicians on this letter was likely aware of the progress in AI, and knew this was coming if they were honest with themselves. Some have even helped pushed the agenda forward. Inevitably, there would be a day when AI would find solutions to problems that defined the field. That day has come perhaps sooner than anticipated.
This letter smacks of fear. Their way of learning, work, achievement, and community is threatened by the ever steady pace of technology.
They say:
“But solving problems is only a tool and proxy for achieving the primary goal of conceptual understanding and insight. Forgetting this in the world of AI may turn the tool against the primary goal. Indeed, the mass production at faster and faster pace of "true/false" statements could destroy fertile ground instead of breathing life into new ideas.”
Indeed, but the mathematics community needs to look inward not outward.
Achievement has long been defined by solving problems that other mathematicians and scientists have found crucial for understanding shapes, numbers, and natural phenomena.
The race to solve these hasn’t always been collaborative, cordial, or healthy. Too often, individuals have worked in secret or in small groups in order to claim priority and the accolades that come along. Further, I’ve even seen worse behavior not worth getting into here.
Now AI can solve these problems, oftentimes without building the abstractions that we need for understanding. And it is increasingly easier to collaborate in large groups without needing to trust everyone’s ability because we can check the truth of their work and incorporate it into the larger effort.
Certainly, the mathematical community and AI are misaligned. But, it is unclear that AI needs to change. Rather, I argue, it is the mathematical community that will need to change. Instead of focusing on the teleological pursuit of the truth of blessed problems, we need to reward the concise explanations and beautiful theories that give clear understanding. In turn, we can use AI to help us collaborate better and better our understanding.