Terence Tao and 25 Fields Medalists Issue Declaration: AI Math Benchmarks Are 'Severely Misaligned' With Science
emmanuelvivier · x · 2026-09-14
Terence Tao announced he is among 25 initial signatories—all Fields Medalists—of a declaration titled "A Severe Misalignment of AI in Mathematics."
- Context: LLM math capabilities have improved dramatically in recent months, solving major open problems across fields;
- Core claim: AI companies' push to use solving math problems as a benchmark is severely misaligned with the goals of the mathematical community and detrimental to the science;
- Broader framing: the signatories see this as part of wider alignment issues affecting other scientific and creative professions, and society at large;
- Aftermath: the declaration is open for further signatures (similar to the Leiden declaration), covered by The Economist, with an interview of James Maynard and a French version in Le Monde. Tao acknowledged the rushed process was due to urgency.
The first collective public pushback by top mathematicians against AI companies' benchmark race.
Related event: 25 Fields Medalists Warn of Severe Misalignment Between AI and Mathematics(4 posts)→
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