{
  "id": 15758893,
  "title": "1000 human mathematicians pledge to shun AI in their research",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/20/1000-human-mathematicians-pledge-to-shun-ai-in-their-research",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-20T15:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Scientist",
    "slug": "new-scientist",
    "url": "https://www.newscientist.com/article/2593621-a-thousand-human-mathematicians-pledge-to-shun-ai-in-their-research/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A significant number of human mathematicians have committed to abstaining from collaborating with AI companies and employing their models in their research. This decision arose from the increasing discontent over how AI firms have utilized their models to resolve complex mathematical issues that had perplexed humans for extended periods. The Association of Human Mathematicians (AHM) was established in response to contentious findings produced by AI entities, such as OpenAI's simultaneous publication of 722 papers. Presently, the AHM boasts over 1000 members, encompassing professors and PhD students.\n\nTerence Tao, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, expressed apprehension regarding the manner in which these discoveries are swiftly disseminated to the mathematical community, potentially causing harm to the field. While many of these results have been formalized, they are frequently presented in an intricate and hastily written manner, leaving the community grappling to comprehend and extract meaning from them.\n\nIn response, an Advisory Group on Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence was formed to offer guidance to AI companies on best practices. OpenAI confirmed its intent to consider this advice; however, its recent releases seem to diverge from several of the group's recommendations. The AHM enforces three pledges from its members; yet, the third is optional, thus resulting in two categories: \"vegetarians,\" who refrain from working with or for AI firms and also avoiding AI in their research, and \"vegans,\" who have taken it a step further by completely eliminating AI from their research endeavors.\n\nSam Raskin, a professor at Yale University, is a vegetarian member who opted not to sign the third pledge due to ambiguity surrounding whether his occasional use of AI for simple tasks constitutes a violation. Raskin remarks that AHM membership is diverse, with motivations ranging from environmental concerns to personal apprehensions about job security. For him, it stems from the belief that mathematics should be a fundamentally human pursuit that brings joy when done traditionally, and it also serves as a message to others that he is not working for an AI company.\n\nTerence Tao articulated that AI companies are causing damage to mathematics. Steven Sivek, a vegan member from Imperial College London, asserts that the AHM is not merely a list of individuals opposing AI but has established committees to address how the field should evolve in the post-AI era. These committees focus on protecting preprints from being absorbed into AI models during training data, addressing potential career issues for professors, and determining how undergraduate and graduate teaching should adapt to this new reality. Sivek emphasizes that the AHM is not denialist but acknowledges the reality of AI's integration in the profession and the need to adapt. He sees mathematics as a craft requiring hard work, deep thought, and satisfying outcomes, and he is uncomfortable with the idea of outsourcing his understanding to machines.\n\nHervé Le Dret, a mathematician at Sorbonne University in France, is motivated by ethical concerns, including AI's \"scandalous waste of resources and environmental impact.\" OpenAI and Anthropic declined to comment on the matter when approached by New Scientist.",
  "summary": "There is a growing backlash against the way AI companies have gone about tackling mathematical problems – and now some mathematicians are opting to avoid AI altogether",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}