We may be the last generation of mathematical heroes

In the future, the mathematician may not be seen as a hero. As we are living in an era where physicists and mathematicians have a certain aura of heroism, artificial intelligence is changing that. Speaking from experience, I am one of those heroes. For most of history, mathematics was considered a nerdy pursuit, but that changed in the late 1600s with the work of Newton and Leibniz, and later with the discoveries of Gauss, Riemann, and Cantor.

These mathematicians' advancements led to innovations in explaining planetary orbits, predicting eclipses, and designing industrial machines. Later, physicists like Einstein, Oppenheimer, and Turing added to the pantheon of heroes. Turing's work laid the mathematical foundation for modern computers, while Shannon's information theory powers today's technology.

I, a former sporty kid who was not initially interested in math, became a mathematician after its glamour captured my attention. As a mathematician, I believed I was part of a noble elite, pioneering science and technology. However, AI has disproved a 80-year-old mathematical conjecture, made significant progress on 10 long-standing mathematical problems, and even found a new mathematical structure that mathematicians had been searching for 27 years.

These AI achievements suggest a shift in the mathematician's role in society. Rather than being the creators of breakthroughs, we may become curators and interpreters of the discoveries made by AI. The mathematician hero of the past 400 years may transform into a conductor, leading the orchestra but acknowledging that they are no longer involved in the creative heavy lifting.

While there is still much unknown about mathematics, it seems that AI will discover much of it before we do. The age of the mathematician hero may be a fleeting chapter, and those who aspire to or have achieved this status might be the last generation of mathematician heroes.