Association for Human Mathematics calls for an OpenAI boycott over AI-proof releases
The Association for Human Mathematics (AHM) has called on mathematicians to stop working with OpenAI, opposing the bulk release of AI manuscripts claiming solutions to major mathematical problems. Terence Tao’s blog reposted the statement.
AHM’s statement addresses OpenAI’s October 6 release. The association describes the publication of more than 700 files at once as a display of power rather than scholarship and questions the value of this publication model for mathematics. That is the statement’s file count, not a count of confirmed theorems.
Complexity theorist Scott Aaronson presents another side: the claimed results could be important, but human understanding and assessment are only beginning. He reproduces a statement from the Advisory Group on Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence (AGMAI) saying its advisory role is not an endorsement of the results’ impact or the process that produced them; the mathematical community must undertake its own assessment.
The disagreement extends beyond whether a model can solve problems to who does the work of understanding proofs, researchers’ freedom to choose questions, and equitable access to tools and compute. AHM’s boycott call and AGMAI’s advisory statement come from different organizations and should not be presented as a consensus of the mathematical community.
Sources
- AHM Statement on OpenAI’s October 6 Release of Mathematical Documents — terrytao.wordpress.com
- The Mathocalypse — scottaaronson.blog