NYT's The Daily asks Steven Strogatz what AI mastering math means for mathematicians' purpose
stevenstrogatz · x · 2026-10-13
A 33-minute episode of NYT's The Daily features Cornell mathematician Steven Strogatz on AI's impact on mathematics. AI has gone from struggling with basic arithmetic to helping tackle famous open problems. Strogatz describes the excitement and grief of watching machines take on work that gives people a sense of purpose, warns that history shows math isn't just a game to let AI solve, and asks what is lost when answers arrive without human struggle and insight. He notes AI is mastering projects that long helped young mathematicians build careers, raising questions about their future; his forthcoming book is Big Math.
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