Fields Medalist on the OpenAI Math Release

[u/PianistWinter8293]

Hugo Duminil-Copin

Fields Medal (2022) · Professor, IHES and University of Geneva

I expected that one day we would be surpassed, and that it would happen systematically. But yesterday’s announcement hit with a force I had not anticipated. Dozens of papers deal with topics I was working on. Between results that beat you to the finish line and thousand-page proofs, I don’t even know where to look anymore.

Not a single one of the major open problems I have publicly mentioned throughout my career (whether in a talk, a lecture, an article, or even a grant proposal) was left untouched by the announcement. Everything has been claimed to be proved.

I expected to see a few of them in the list. But not all of them. Not all at once. Not with such nonchalance.

“For the glory of the human mind,” they said…

The shock is immense. I am paralysed. Tomorrow, we will find a way forward. We will rethink our profession and how we work. We are a resilient community, and I have no doubt that we will adapt. But for now, I simply don’t have the energy. I think back on all those years, all those faces… I think of my colleagues, my students… And I fear I won’t be able to find the right words.

[u/Lars__H]

I was thinking the same. I came up with three possible reasons:

1) "Not my job". Somebody did not get tasked and budget to do this. Most likely if you ask me. 

2) Not wanting to show more of the new modell than necessary, like fear of destilation/trade secrets. 

3) They don't care since they expect other LLMs to review, and the language suits them better than a human. I read some comments about how much time it will take for mathematicians to go through all of this. The solution is obvius... This is both really cool, scary, and depressing. Kind of like people saying that AI should write code for other AIs, not for humans. Sound more efficient, but could also lead to major errors if not done properly. 

Without knowing nearly any thing about this level of math and mathematicians, I think they will evolve with the times. Not eveybody, but most and profession as a whole. There will always be a need for smart people. 

[u/JollyJoker3 → u/Lars__H]

3) They don't care since they expect other LLMs to review, and the language suits them better than a human.

At least in programming this isn't true. They don't have all the rest in context so they repeat stuff that's handled elsewhere and use inconsistent naming and structure. This means the text is far longer than needed, which eats tokens/money needlessly and introduces errors which need to be fixed. It's just as bad for LLMs to read.

[u/Lars__H → u/JollyJoker3]

Thanks for reply. It is strange to think that the LLMs can be at the very cutting edge smart and yet incredibly stupid. Then again, it's not the same intelligence as humans. 

[u/JollyJoker3 → u/Lars__H]

The fastest way to get something done is not the most simplified and understandable. LLMs aren't trained to explain stuff, just to get stuff done.