Mathematician rebuts AI proof critics: demanding Lean verification is a double standard
AlexKontorovich · x · 2026-11-09
Mathematician Dan Romik pushed back hard against criticism of Elliot Glazer's AI-assisted math proof, dismantling the critique point by point:
- Attribution: Glazer was humble enough to leave his own name off the paper, yet the critic refuses to even mention him.
- Empty question: The critic asks "so what is the problem?" but never actually answers it.
- Lean double standard: Demanding formal Lean verification ignores that all proofs months ago—and 99.9% of published proofs today—lack it. And when proofs do include Lean certificates, the same critics mock them as "leanslop" that "doesn't advance understanding."
- "Nobody verified it": Romik questions what verification standard the critic is actually applying.
The spat highlights a real tension in the math community over AI-assisted proofs: formal verification gets dismissed as button-pushing, while unverified plausibility gets dismissed as untrustworthy.
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