Community Mocks Tao's Pivot; Charton and Fleuret Defend Him

Terence Tao recently shifted within weeks from being a leading figure of the "AI for Math" wave to new focuses and positions. This abrupt turn triggered mockery across the AI math community, which then evolved into a debate over how to evaluate his change of stance.

Confirmed

• François Fleuret posted about the community's buzz over a figure's pivot: someone previously a standard-bearer for "AI for Math" suddenly changed focus and position within weeks, drawing widespread mockery online. He felt the ridicule was not necessarily malicious but more that people found the sharp turn inherently dramatic.
• François Charton, a researcher at DeepMind, defended Tao in a discussion with Fleuret, arguing that the community's mockery of Tao was unfair: Tao is one of the few mathematicians trying to maintain a middle-ground position—he understands AI, doesn't pander to hype, and proposed SAIR (a vision for doing mathematics in the AI era).
• Fleuret later replied supporting Charton's judgment, saying the outside world hasn't been harsh on Tao—arguably even unfair to him—and that Tao is one of the few top mathematicians maintaining a middle-ground stance on AI without bowing to hype.
• Charton further noted that the AI math community has "Quislings" far worse than Tao, and that the mockery was aimed at the wrong person. While he doesn't fully agree with Tao's positions, he respects Tao's effort to think through strategies for the whole community, adding that some people panic, some go asking big tech for paychecks, and some sneer from the sidelines.

Why it matters

This dispute reflects the fragmentation of the math community under the impact of AI: panickers, cashers-out, cynics, and pathfinders all coexist. As one of the most influential mathematicians, Tao was an easy target for his shifting stance, but the defenses from Charton and Fleuret point to a deeper question: rather than mocking an individual's pivot, what truly matters is who is searching for a sustainable path for the entire discipline in the AI era.

2026-09-20 ~ 2026-09-21 · 5 related posts

• [source] Researchers Amused as AI-for-Math Champion Pivots Overnight — francoisfleuret · 2026-09-20
• [source] Terry Tao mocked for AI shift, DeepMind's Charton says it's unfair to him — f_charton · 2026-09-20
• [source] Charton doubles down on Tao defense: community has far worse Quislings — f_charton · 2026-09-20
• François Fleuret defends Terence Tao as a rare mathematician who resisted AI hype — francoisfleuret · 2026-09-20
• Charton defends Terence Tao as one of few thinking for the math community on AI — f_charton · 2026-09-21