Mathematicians raise concerns over the impact of artificial intelligence

Twenty-five leading mathematicians from around the world issued an open letter warning that the competition among companies to develop artificial intelligence could create various challenges for science and potentially threaten researchers’ work.

The new debate was sparked by statements from New York University professor Tristan Buckmaster. Last week, he accused OpenAI of putting pressure on him.

According to the scientist, the company demanded that his colleague from Anthropic be removed as a co-author of a research paper on which they had worked together to solve an important mathematical problem.

At the same time, mathematicians do not deny the benefits of artificial intelligence. The ability of AI to solve complex problems that previously had no solutions could be highly valuable for science.

However, they believe it is essential that scientists are able to understand, verify, and explain solutions discovered by artificial intelligence.

“The challenges currently faced by the mathematical community are similar to those affecting other scientific and creative fields. This situation raises an important question for all humanity: ‘As artificial intelligence continues to change the ways in which work is carried out, how can we ensure that we do not lose the original purpose of that work?’” the mathematicians stated in their letter.