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On November 4, 2026, Fields Medalist Terrence Tao expressed concern in a speech at the Science x AI Summit at the University of California, Los Angeles: humanity is delegating its thinking to AI, yet is gradually losing the assurance that AI solutions actually meet real needs, and he worries this consequence will soon manifest in the real world. He pointed out that AI can quickly produce answers in mathematics, but humans may not understand the reasoning behind them; pure mathematics can be verified with formal tools, whereas real-world scenarios are far more complex. He advocates advancing mathematical research into the "Math 2.0" era, letting AI enhance rather than replace human understanding of problems, and in an October 22 article in Nature he called on the mathematics community to adjust its research goals and incentive mechanisms.
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Terence Tao warns of the risk of humanity handing over thinking to AI, calls for entering the Math 2.0 era
Speaking at the Science x AI Summit at the University of California, Los Angeles, Terence Tao said that humanity is delegating thinking to AI while losing the assurance that AI solutions actually meet real needs, and he worries this consequence will soon manifest in the real world. He believes that AI can quickly provide answers in mathematics, but humans may not understand the reasoning behind them; pure mathematics can be verified with formal tools, whereas real-world scenarios are far more complex. He advocates advancing mathematical research into the Math 2.0 era, letting AI enhance human understanding of problems, and in an October 22 article in Nature called on the mathematics community to adjust its research goals and incentive mechanisms.
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Terence Tao warns: Humanity is handing thinking over to AI, and danger may arrive soon
Fields Medal winner Terence Tao warns that humanity is handing the process of thinking and problem-solving over to AI, yet gradually losing its understanding of the problems and their solutions, and this trend may soon produce serious consequences in the real world. He points out that AI can quickly give answers, but humans do not necessarily understand its reasoning process; in pure mathematics the risk is relatively controllable, because proofs can be verified with formal tools, but when used in the real world, AI solutions may be mathematically valid yet deviate from real needs. He advocates promoting "Math 2.0," so that AI enhances rather than replaces human understanding and judgment.
Rohan Paul
Terence Tao worries that humans are outsourcing their thinking to AI
Rohan Paul cites Terence Tao's concern: people are handing their thinking over to AI and letting AI solve problems for them; he expects this situation to soon have consequences in the real world, and stresses that this concern is not limited to the field of mathematics. The full related video was posted on SAIR's YouTube channel.
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