Terence Tao warns AI is mining open maths problems dry.
Fields medallist Terence Tao wrote this week that good open problems are a finite resource. He compared automated solving to digging up an archaeological site with an excavator. He suggested some problems may need to be declared off-limits to machines.
Why it mattersHard problems are how young mathematicians learn, not just puzzles waiting for answers. If sharing a research direction invites a lab to race you, open science gets quieter.
Read in the app — free, in 9 languages
Related stories
Claude designed proteins that latch onto deadly scorpion toxins.2026-10-24OpenAI's AI found a flaw in the code that shrinks web traffic.
2026-10-24ChatGPT drew fake scandal photos of US candidates 80% of the time.
2026-10-24Claude proved that 123 code libraries are free of memory crashes.
2026-10-24Britain will spend £100 million on an AI lab to fight biothreats.
2026-10-24