Fields Medalist Villani: math went from least AI-affected science to most affected in one year
robleclerc · x · 2026-10-17
Fields Medalist Cédric Villani reveals in a new interview that some mathematicians are already questioning whether to take on new PhD students as AI advances. A year ago he considered math among the sciences least affected by AI; now he thinks it may be among the most affected, even musing whether universities could become places where people study human mathematical reasoning as an ancient art.
Rob Leclerc adds that discussing Navier-Stokes with grade-5 level math is impossible — AI math will get far more complicated and demand people with years of deep mathematical training, much like deep CS background enables far deeper AI coding.
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