Mathematicians React to OpenAI's Claimed Solutions to 10 Long-Standing Problems
Following OpenAI's announcement that it solved 10 long-standing problems in mathematics and theoretical computer science, mathematicians James Maynard and Tim Gowers have publicly reflected on the implications for their field. Maynard expressed concerns about AI's impact on mathematics, while Gowers discussed the types of mathematics LLMs are good at, noting the rapid evolution of these capabilities.
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The Verge AIRobert Hart
Mathematician James Maynard has spent a lot of time this past year "soul searching." A professor at the University of Oxford and winner of the prestigious Fields Medal, Maynard told The Verge he's been grappling with the future of his field as the traditionally slow-moving discipline hurries to adapt to AI. Days before we spoke, OpenAI revealed it had produced the solutions to 10 long-standing mathematics problems, some of which had confounded academics for decades. Like generative AI used to produce text and images or propose ideas in science and medicine , the technology learns patterns and connections from the vast amount of material it' … Read the full story at The Verge.
Hacker NewsColinWright
For the sake of anyone who might read this blog post in the distant future (a month from now, say), let me mention that I am writing it a few days after OpenAI announced that it had solved ten major problems in mathematics and theoretical computer science, including the first construction of a non-sofic group, and a proof that the multicolour Ramsey number (where there are 3’s) grows superexponentially in . The first was, to judge from various talks I have been to, one of the most important unsolved problems in group theory, and the second was a major open problem in Ramsey theory that I didn’t necessarily expect to see solved in my lifetime, though of course such expectations now have to be revised. The reason I want to be clear about the timing is that I shall be discussing the current capabilities of LLMs in the full expectation that those will continue to change rapidly. So it is likely that in not too long from now, if there is anything interesting in what I write, it will be inte