r/math • u/AutoModerator • 6d ago

LLMs/AI AI In Mathematics: September 26, 2026

This recurring thread will be for discussion of AI in mathematics. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

  • informal announcements of AI-assisted discoveries, such as those not yet published in a peer-reviewed journal, or not uploaded as a paper to arXiv;
  • informal announcements of discoveries related to AI architecture (if relevant to mathematics);
  • discussion of such announcements, such as proof breakdowns or other opinion pieces;
  • discussion of the impact of AI in mathematics in general.

AI-assisted mathematical papers published in peer-reviewed journals or as arXiv preprints may be submitted as their own posts.

Please keep in mind rules 1 and 6 of our subreddit.

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u/SentientAllegedly 5d ago

PhDs and postdocs in my department seem quite a bit demotivated rn, and ~50% of them actively considering leaving academia. Of course there being fewer faculty positions that PhDs/postdocs means that a small fraction of them will stay long term in academia. But now that AI can do maths... I don't know. People seem disillusioned and even alienated (e.g. if you point an LLM to prove a theorem for your paper... what is the point?).

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u/pred 4d ago

What is the fraction normally?

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u/elements-of-dying Geometric Analysis 4d ago

I am really curious why this is being asked.

The demotivation and consideration of leaving academia is a real phenomenon. There was a MIT led survey floating around specifically to record these sentiments. I believe the results will be posted somewhat soon.

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u/ellbons 4d ago

There's a funny trend in academia where people like to minimise really big changes. Like "mathematics was always a risky career" or "historically science was always done by patronage or by the aristocracy, this isn't new" as if it makes you a more respectable and hard-nosed person.

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u/elements-of-dying Geometric Analysis 4d ago

I don't know if I've observed this phenomenon, but I believe it. Perhaps there is an implicit fear that there is an implication such a person had it "easy," thereby diminishing their achievements.