Cornell's Lionel Levine shares Math for AI Safety slides; mathematicians debate the civic stance
nihilunbounded · x · 2026-10-16
Cornell mathematician Lionel Levine shared his "Math for AI Safety" slides from an Aspen workshop introducing ML theory folks to AI safety (got through 13 of 33 slides due to questions).
- Slides map mathematicians (Terence Tao, Timothy Gowers, Kevin Buzzard, etc.) on a Civic-vs-Personal / Artisanal-vs-Industrial spectrum
- A companion survey with 197 respondents shows most place themselves artisanal and personal
- Reposter nihilunbounded frames it as mathematicians rejecting the 'misaligned' public face of the field
A snapshot of ML theory drifting toward AI safety — and internal friction over that shift.
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