AI challenges mathematician's status as hero

The advancement of science and technology has reached a point where artificial intelligence (AI) can solve complex mathematical problems that have eluded human mathematicians for decades. This development challenges the traditional perception of mathematicians as scientific heroes, a role prominent since the era of Isaac Newton.

AI models from companies like OpenAI have recently demonstrated significant progress on mathematical challenges. A notable instance was the resolution of the Erdős unit-distance problem, which had baffled mathematicians for 80 years. OpenAI's model showed that a set of points can have more pairs exactly one unit apart than previously believed.

Furthermore, OpenAI's Astra model has reportedly made substantial progress on ten long-standing problems in mathematics and theoretical computer science. These include the discovery of the first known "non-sofic" group and breakthroughs related to calculating the "permanent" function. These achievements have raised concerns among mathematicians regarding their future roles.

While AI can now solve these problems, the role of human mathematicians is not entirely obsolete. They are still needed to guide AI, set research problems, and verify results. Particularly, the verification of proofs and the development of reliable checking systems have become central as machines generate more mathematical content.

In the future, the mathematician's role may shift more towards that of a conductor or curator, interpreting and presenting discoveries made by machines, rather than producing groundbreaking insights themselves. Although an infinite amount of mathematics remains unknown, AI is expected to discover much of it before humans do.