Generative AI has changed mathematics forever. Where to from here? |
A little over a week ago, artificial intelligence company OpenAI announced ten advances in mathematics and computer science made with their as-yet unreleased model Astra. The discoveries cover a wide range of mathematical fields, including geometry, cryptography and coding theory.
These ten are just the latest in a rapidly growing list of mathematical breakthroughs made by generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
OpenAI accompanied the announcement with a statement on “responsibility to the mathematical community”. Here, the company acknowledges concerns about attribution, accountability for the correctness of AI-assisted results, and the changing nature of mathematical discovery.
The statement reflects a growing understanding that the remarkable technical advances due to AI are only part of a bigger story about what mathematics means, and what its future will look like.
AI is raising big questions
Large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and Claude are creating disruptions in all parts of the mathematical community.
University departments are grappling with the ethical implications of these tools in their research and teaching. Editorial boards of many peer-reviewed journals are being inundated with AI-written papers and must decide how to assess and disclose the use of generative AI. The arXiv preprint........