The AI Crisis in Math: A Perspective from Philosophy of Science

Mathematical advances by AI systems over the last six months have prompted worried reflection on the future of mathematical inquiry. Many of the questions mathematicians are discussing deal with topics that philosophers of science have long been interested in, such as scientific change, the nature of mathematical knowledge, how knowledge production is organized, and the (multiple, competing) aims of research. In this talk, I’ll introduce a few philosophical ideas that may be useful for thinking about mathematics’ current predicament, with the aim of continuing the conversation unfolding during this semester’s colloquium series.