EPFL mathematician: AI proves theorems humans can't, so what is understanding for?
snikolov · x · 2026-10-23
Gonzalo Cao Labora of EPFL, awarded by the Spanish Math Society (RSME) and BBVA Foundation, argued in his acceptance speech that we are living through the greatest transformation in the history of mathematics—greater than the late 19th/early 20th century axiomatization.
Key points:
- As machines prove theorems humans cannot, mathematicians and society must ask what the value of human understanding is—an open debate.
- His view: mathematicians don't do math to know the answer but to understand it; proofs exist to enable understanding, which is what mathematics contributes to other sciences.
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