Comment by bluecalm
16 hours ago
Math doesn't belong to academics. We don't pay them to work on problems for fun. They will just need to re-evaluate where the value their provide is. It won't be solving problems anymore. Hopefully it will be making them understandable by others at least till AI can't do that as well.
"They will just need to re-evaluate where the value their provide is."
That is fine to say when it is not your field. I guarantee you feel different when it is the thing you care about, that gives you joy, that defines your status. Think about how many sheldon-equivalents insist on being called Dr. (non medical)
It is part of what people use to define themselves. Its going to hurt. There may even be a Bulterian Jihad
Not our field? Most of us are programmers here.
It is clear to me that any competent person with a little patience can now build software better than what I used to build by hand.
> Think about how many sheldon-equivalents insist on being called Dr. (non medical)
Why do physicians insist on calling themselves Dr. (medical)?
No, you dislike maths to the point you prefer paying others to do it. Actual mathematicians are largely doing it for fun, but are now effectively saying "stop destroying our fun or we'll stop doing maths", and you will have to do the maths yourself.
Well, they do they?
Whole sections of the economy are being upheaved by AI, and there is no reason to make a special case for the mathematicians anymore than for the illustrators, developers, translators, HR, etc.
It isn't some law of nature. Humans/societies have agency - what AI should or should not be used is up for debate and decisions. It might even wind up the other way around that using AI is the special case - who knows.
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Oh right, how rude of me to only talk about mathematicians in this thread about the future prospects of children in Sudan. Of course this is the place to make "what about the illustrators" argument.
I actually really like math and I can't wait for the day LLMs not only solve difficult problems but can also explain the solutions to me.
Mathematicians do a terrible job here. They use inconsistent symbols they don't even explain. They often obfuscate the main idea just to make the paper longer. If you are not part of a small club you are not meant to understand it. I think this is a terrible approach and I am eagerly waiting for AI to do a better job!
But won't new humans take their place that will be the ones who enjoy deciphering AI solutions?
It just seems that this class of mathematicians is being "disrupted".
The field is changing and a new class of mathematicians will take their place.
This happens all the time in fields as technology disrupts them.
A new class of individuals, with different motivations, take the place of the old guard.
I'm sure the motivations of individuals involved in designing and manufacturing cars changed as Henry Ford introduced the factor line.
But that old crop of humans either adapted or retired.
But, plenty of humans took their place with new motivations and automotive technology continued to progress.
I personally feel math will indeed move faster as a result of these breakthroughs. And the humans that take the place of the old guard will have different passions and motivations than the current group.
Maybe the new group will be productivity motivated rather than motivated by the love of tinkering with a single problem for years.
> Maybe the new group will be productivity motivated rather than motivated by the love of tinkering with a single problem for years.
Sounds like salaries for mathematicians need to start going up if we stop paying them with fun.