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Responsible Release of AI-Generated Mathematics

123 points · 223 comments · aureianimus

  1. throwaway713 · · focus · HN ↗
    > we ask them to stop testing advanced mathematical problems on proprietary models.

    Maybe I'm alone on this, but for some reason these sorts of requests strike me as akin to gatekeeping how someone should breathe air. It's math... the numbers and symbols are just out there in the platonic realm available for anyone to do as they like with them. It's patently absurd to request other people to stop.

    Ensuring credit where credit is due? That's fine. If your model incorporates the efforts of many others, then it's reasonable to request acknowledgement of everyone who contributed (even indirectly). But that's not what the request states — presumably their ask subsumes any advanced ML model, including those that weren't trained on a giant corpus of text.

    1. omnicognate · · focus · HN ↗
      > gatekeeping how someone should breathe air

      Air is there for all to breathe. It's a more-or-less fungible, free resource for all to use and the consumption of it is a basic requirement for life.

      The AI companies, in contrast are using vast financial, human and compute resources to train and operate specialised models that are not available to the public. The advisory group's job is to give non-binding advice on how they can use this privately owned technology in a responsible manner that avoids doing unnecessary harm to the mathematical community. To call that gatekeeping misses the point entirely.

      1. dr_dshiv · · focus · HN ↗
        The AI models are most definitely available to the public with a maximum of what, a 3 month lead while they do testing?
        1. omnicognate · · focus · HN ↗
          The very first paragraph of the article says (emphasis mine):

          > At present, some frontier AI labs are testing advanced mathematical problems on proprietary models that remain inaccessible to the broader scientific community. Our recommendations are formulated with this practical context in mind.

          The Navier Stokes proof came from an internal model that AFAIK still has not been released even in a limited way to scientists, let alone to the general public. Publicly available models are not what these mathematicians are talking about.

        2. eli_gottlieb · · focus · HN ↗
          Air is both free as in beer and free as in freedom. Proprietary language models are neither.
          1. hardbass · · focus · HN ↗
            Why are you confusing the substance/field with the tools to use it? He said air is free which is correct. You and parent are complaining that air compressors cost money and are proprietary.
        3. GPerson · · focus · HN ↗
          This is an extremely privileged take. Most of the world cannot spend thousands of dollars a year on this.
      2. psychoslave · · focus · HN ↗
        Air is not impossible to disrupt in quality as side effect of industrial hubris.
      3. hardbass · · focus · HN ↗
        Air is for everyone. Nobody stops you from buying or making a 1hp compressor or an ai company owning a 10hp compressor.
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