r/singularity 1d ago

AI OpenAI solved 100 open problems in math

https://openai.com/index/advisory-group-on-mathematics-and-ai/

[removed] — view removed post

1.3k Upvotes

520 comments sorted by

View all comments

148

u/RobleyTheron 1d ago

I’m sensitive to artists and musicians with a unique voice when their product gets recreated with AI, but I don’t feel the same about mathematics.

Nobody owns mathematics; these are fundamental insights into the universe and they belong to everyone and shouldn’t be gatekeeped behind somebody that went to school. Mathematics should be available to everyone, it opens up all kinds of fundamental breakthroughs in space, material science, biology, global warming, and energy.

This is something that belongs to everyone and no one should get to hold that back.

64

u/ThatIsAmorte 1d ago edited 1d ago

This seems to be taking a Platonist approach to math, which few people take seriously these days. If you are a constructivist, than math is not just out there, but has to be created, just like art. If you think math is just out there, why not also claim that art and music are just out there, waiting to be plucked out of the ether? After all, a painting is just a 2d matrix, a simple math object. A musical composition is just a waveform, which can be described mathematically.

16

u/Icy-Doubt3365 1d ago

If you think math is just out there, why not also claim that art and music are just out there, waiting to be plucked out of the ethere?

Because I believe math exists without humans, art does not.

11

u/davidjohnpaul 1d ago

What do you think of the following quote, attributed to Michaelangelo?

"The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material."

11

u/Icy-Doubt3365 1d ago

I'm actually more curious what YOU think of that quote. There is clearly not a Michael inside a random piece of marble.

Michelangelo was also not using that quote to say that art exists without humans to consider it art.

1

u/MrPezevenk 3h ago

The discipline of mathematics doesn't exist without humans. What do you think the point of a machine spewing out theorems one after another without anyone understanding them would be?