French Scientists React to Artificial Intelligence Developments in Mathematics
The solving of mathematical problems by OpenAI's artificial intelligence model has caused concern among French mathematicians, including Fields Medalists.
OpenAI's new artificial intelligence model working on thousands of math problems and producing numerous studies has drawn the reaction of five prominent French mathematicians, including Fields Medalists.
OpenAI tested its new artificial intelligence model on approximately 4,000 mathematical problems. Spending an average of three hours for each problem, the model produced a total of 719 studies across 372 distinct problem families. While the company's October 7 announcement resonated in the math world, Liberation newspaper gathered the views of five prominent French mathematicians.
Hugo Duminil-Copin, the 2022 Fields Medalist and professor at the University of Geneva, stated that he cried after the announcement, arguing that the results of artificial intelligence could deprive humans of their power to understand the world. Isabelle Gallagher, President of the French Mathematical Society, compared the situation to a nightmare, while Amaury Hayat, a professor at Ecole des Ponts et Chaussees, drew attention to the danger of losing the ability to understand mathematical proofs. Sylvia Serfaty, a professor at Sorbonne University, compared the process to a tsunami, stating that research has become industrialized. Cedric Villani, the 2010 Fields Medalist, emphasized that mathematicians must not turn into spokespersons for machines.
While acknowledging that artificial intelligence can accelerate research, the mathematicians stated that human creativity, intuition, and control over scientific studies must be preserved.