Align AI and Mathematics–To Something Else (liorpachter.wordpress.com)

17 pointsby nitrogenpuddle2 hours ago6 comments

andai 6 minutes ago

I've heard this idea before, that civilization itself is already a misaligned intelligence, and that AI will merely amplify the existing tendencies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCSsKV5F4xc

andrepd an hour ago

How in god's name—irrespective of how valid this is, and its very valid—is this even remotely germane to the issue of AI in mathematics? Rattling off incidents and making the case that there is discrimination and sexists in mathematics (yeah no shit), how is this related to the issue of AI that was raised in the letter? Are the complaints raised in that letter any less valid because the mathematicians who signed them make part of a community which has reproachable behaviour, both past and present? I really don't get it.

thorum 30 minutes ago

Why does it have to be about that? The author says they agree with the letter in the first paragraph.

warkdarrior 9 minutes ago

The letter claims that AI is destroying the mathematics community as is now. The blog asks whether the mathematics community as is now is worth saving.

striking 5 minutes ago

The overall thrust of the article is a little obfuscated by its prose but I might summarize its text as the following:

> The Fields medalists' letter argues that the current use of AI in mathematics is not aligned with various subgoals of the field that ensure people continue to contribute to it, with a particular inciting incident centered around a certain problem being the reason for this letter. But the experience of some mathematicians that worked on that same problem was just as misaligned with those subgoals as the recent use of AI was.

I think the subtext then is that the field of mathematics has always been unfair (especially to women) but we're only pointing out that it's unfair when it affects the most prominent folks (in this case, specifically Fields medalists who have signed their letter with that specifically), and that maybe this alignment should not just affect how we approach problems but also how we approach each other in this field; the humanity of mathematics seems to have become relevant overnight when it seems to have been an issue for some time.

rramadass 2 minutes ago

You are right.

This just reads like a rancorous rant for gaining publicity and notoriety.