> we urgently need to come up with good ways of explaining the value of having a large pool of human mathematical experts, even if it is no longer part of their role to find new proofs of theorems.
This is the main issue, and while I fully agree with that value sentiment, the Fields medallists’ letter failed to provide convincing arguments for why mathematicians should widely receive funding for merely understanding things, and how competition for postdoc and tenure positions would work under these circumstances.
I'm genuinely unclear on what you mean here. Do you mean:
1. Most mathematicians are currently largely paid as part of their academic job (as a faculty member) and will continue to do that work (including the research part) even if extra-mural grant funding goes away. That seems entirely plausible to me.
Or do you mean?
2. Real mathematicians will continue to devote a significant part of their life/energy to mathematics research as a hobby, even if no one is paying them (in any way) to do it? That seems more of a reach and makes me wonder if many currently folks current employed as mathematicians aren't 'Real mathematicians' from your point of view.
So we should return to a renaissance world where only the wealthy or sponsored can do research, teach, and promote the wonders of creativity. Just hope the oligarchs give us prols enough gruel to create our own solipsistic knowledge no one else knows much less cares about, entertained by LLMs optimized to placate our desires and extract money/attention.
A world of cheap AI makes research available to anyone who can afford to run the AI, in a similar way to how ubiquitous cheap computing hardware has made software development possible at the personal level.
As a sometime experimental scientist and occasional manufacturing engineer, this is hilarious!
Discoveries for abstract theory, entertainment, and perhaps regurgitating media, or even basic education can be done with the help of LLMs, but you can't make anything. You can't test anything. You aren't living in the real world. You'll just be lulled into the false belief that everything is simple and fine and beautiful, just as you always wanted, and as airplanes fall from the sky.
Hey, maybe it could work on Cosmology, if you gave it access to the data?
I'mn talking about math research. Of course you can test things: does the formalized proof check? This is what makes automated math such an attractive target for AI.
layer8 · · focus · HN ↗
This is the main issue, and while I fully agree with that value sentiment, the Fields medallists’ letter failed to provide convincing arguments for why mathematicians should widely receive funding for merely understanding things, and how competition for postdoc and tenure positions would work under these circumstances.
jayprr · · focus · HN ↗
ordersofmag · · focus · HN ↗
Or do you mean? 2. Real mathematicians will continue to devote a significant part of their life/energy to mathematics research as a hobby, even if no one is paying them (in any way) to do it? That seems more of a reach and makes me wonder if many currently folks current employed as mathematicians aren't 'Real mathematicians' from your point of view.
jayprr · · focus · HN ↗
kurthr · · focus · HN ↗
pfdietz · · focus · HN ↗
kurthr · · focus · HN ↗
Discoveries for abstract theory, entertainment, and perhaps regurgitating media, or even basic education can be done with the help of LLMs, but you can't make anything. You can't test anything. You aren't living in the real world. You'll just be lulled into the false belief that everything is simple and fine and beautiful, just as you always wanted, and as airplanes fall from the sky.
Hey, maybe it could work on Cosmology, if you gave it access to the data?
You are absolutely right!
pfdietz · · focus · HN ↗
xigoi · · focus · HN ↗
So, only the wealthy or sponsored?