Terence Tao called on model companies to slow down AI mathematical research in his SAIR talk

In his latest SAIR talk, Terence Tao publicly called on model companies to slow down AI mathematics research, saying AI companies accelerate endlessly without knowing the consequences. He proposed the concept of Proof Indigestion, arguing that AI only accelerates two steps—generating solutions and Lean formal verification—while the three steps of exposition, peer review, and incorporation into textbooks remain almost stalled, which would create a knowledge bottleneck. He also expressed concern about mathematicians losing creativity and AI-generated proofs polluting training data. He previously said AI is ready for primetime in mathematics and theoretical physics. He joined 25 Fields Medalists including Peter Scholze, Yu Deng, and Pierre Deligne in a joint open letter criticizing model companies for treating mathematics as a benchmark to chase.