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Mathematicians Hate AI. They Can’t Quit It
WIRED • • business
Key Points:
- Mathematician Tristan Buckmaster accuses OpenAI of using his work without permission to solve the Navier-Stokes problem, but continues to use OpenAI’s AI tools due to their monopoly and utility in research.
- OpenAI investigated and stated that Buckmaster’s prompts did not influence their system’s training, but concerns about attribution and transparency remain widespread among mathematicians.
- Other mathematicians, like Andreas Thom, have also questioned OpenAI’s use of their work without clear credit, highlighting a shift in how mathematical contributions are tracked in the AI era.
- The rise of AI in mathematics is causing excitement and anxiety among researchers, who worry about the future of human contributions and the potential for their work to be used without acknowledgment.
- Some in the mathematical community are calling for oversight and caution around AI’s role in research, but many acknowledge that AI’s efficiency gains make its use inevitable, especially for early-career mathematicians.
