Mathematicians' AI backlash is nothing new: tech change has always been a personal identity crisis
soumitrashukla9 · x · 2026-10-13
Responding to recent pushback from mathematicians over rapid AI advances, the author traces a historical pattern: looms went silent, switchboards went dark, and factory lines shrank—each bringing a personal crisis of identity and craft mastery for the workers affected.
The argument: academics facing AI are not a new species of worker, just people struggling to make sense of a normal technology. Incumbent fear and resentment of new technologies is part and parcel of economic progress.
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