Back

New post: "The Cultural Divide between Mathematics and AI" https://sugaku.net/content/understanding-the-cultural-divide-between-mathematics-and-ai/

This January, I attended the Joint Mathematics Meeting (JMM), themed "We Decide Our Future: Mathematics in the Age of AI." It was a veritable buffet of talks and connections, and I found myself rushing across the convention hall to go between sessions in fields I'm close to (eg: modular forms), new areas I was delighted to dig into (eg: knowledge graphs), and the many talks on AI for math.

Jointly organized by the American Mathematical Society (AMS) and the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), the JMM is the largest gathering of mathematicians in the U.S. described as a "family reunion for the mathematical community" (Saxe, 2019). Having attended since 2009, I've always enjoyed this sense of community. This year however I was struck with a palpable cultural divide between mathematics researchers and those working on AI in industry. To be clear, this isn't a judgment call—I've spent time in both worlds and deeply respect the work happening in each. But these communities have been shaped by different forces and realities, leading to distinct perspectives, values, and approaches.

As excitement builds around AI's potential contributions to mathematics, I worry that this enthusiasm doesn't always come with a nuanced understanding of what mathematics truly is and isn't. This is my attempt to articulate these differences and hopefully build a bridge for better collaboration. I'm also building tools to help make research more deterministic.