we do not endorse this practice, and we ask them to stop testing advanced mathematical problems on proprietary models
From point 2 under section "1. Background":
AI labs should provide significant support, including funding, to help develop this understanding
Point 3 under the same section:
The development of human understanding must remain organic and community led. It should not be directed by AI labs, even when the labs have produced the results.
If, as you say, they are "asking AI labs to hold themselves to the standards of the mathematical community", I must conclude that the mathematical community
1. Ideally wants a monopoly on mathematics research.
2. Demands money from those who dare violate their ideal monopoly.
3. Insists that the ideal monopoly remain in charge.
Your monopoly theory lacks a credible motive and also ignores the fact that your quote specifically targets the frontier labs, not LLMs or computational tools in general. The group (https://agmai.org/) comprises of world-renowned mathematicians, including several Fields medalists, who have nothing left to prove. If they felt like it they could quit mathematics today and take private sector jobs paying far more than their professor salaries.
The basic purpose of mathematics has always been human understanding (see for example
https://mathoverflow.net/a/44213), and the working group's various recommendations simply aim to ensure that computer-generated mathematical activity aligns with that purpose.
The motive is obvious and all over the comments. For you convenience, it can be summarized as gatekeeping. Start unpacking it and you will find ego (these are people at the top of a cloistered social pecking order who suddenly see that order threatened), entitlement (their writing reflects a belief that they own mathematics and have the right to dictate how it's done by others) and economics (academic funding follows prestige; being outdone by machines undermines the prestige, hence the funding).
> and also ignores the fact that your quote specifically targets the frontier labs, not LLMs or computational tools in general
That's like saying "your opposition to autonomous weapons ignores the fact that they specifically target [INSERT FAVORITE TARGET]". I ignore what's irrelevant.
If Ken Griffin had not chosen to donate $3 billion to CMU [1] and instead had spent that money on tokens to solve a bunch of open problems [2][3] using publicly available LLMs, do you seriously believe their reaction would have been more positive?
> The group (https://agmai.org/) comprises of world-renowned mathematicians, including several Fields medalists,
I am well aware of who they are, thank you very much.
> who have nothing left to prove.
In the old order now under threat.
> If they felt like it they could quit mathematics today and take private sector jobs paying far more than their professor salaries.
A common delusion among students and maybe even some professors who've never set foot outside academia. The authors of TFA know better, of course. Their current conditions amount to enjoying a comfortable living while pursuing their favorite hobby full time. In the private sector they would have to justify their salary by (gasp) working on something (OMG!) applied with a reasonable prospect of (would you believe it?) meaningfully contributing to their employer's (pardon my French) bottom line. A revolting thought, and prospective employers know that too. Both parties know it wouldn't work.
> the working group's various recommendations simply aim to ensure that computer-generated mathematical activity aligns with that purpose
Math is a tool. It's what people do with the tools after they are invented that matters - and with mathematical tools sometimes that wait is hundreds of years.
The mathematics community has found that the tools have value long after being invented if the inventor leaves his tools in a specific format. The community is doing its best to preserve that - not because they want less toolmakers, but rather because they want the tools to be useful when they become needed.
Yes. It’s remarkably flagrant, and it’s an example of an academic mindset that’s likely been holding progress back across multiple fields. It’s about to be broken rather badly, and it will show where progress has been stifled.
The mathematical community isn't really a single entity. It's weird to call that a monopoly.
An (obviously not 1-to-1) analogy is Amazon uses their platform sales data to push out almost identical AmazonBasic branded products. Small businesses can't compete, because Amazon has the economy of scale.
I am not saying that what Amazon doing is "wrong" per se, but I bet if small businesses have a voice they'd also ask Amazon to stop blatantly coping their most popular products.
It'd be weird to say that "the small businesses wants a monopoly on [insert product]."
we do not endorse this practice, and we ask them to stop testing advanced mathematical problems on proprietary models
From point 2 under section "1. Background":
AI labs should provide significant support, including funding, to help develop this understanding
Point 3 under the same section:
The development of human understanding must remain organic and community led. It should not be directed by AI labs, even when the labs have produced the results.
If, as you say, they are "asking AI labs to hold themselves to the standards of the mathematical community", I must conclude that the mathematical community
1. Ideally wants a monopoly on mathematics research.
2. Demands money from those who dare violate their ideal monopoly.
3. Insists that the ideal monopoly remain in charge.