Terence Tao, one of the greatest contemporary mathematical minds, has recently made a landmark observation on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the development of pure mathematics.
Developments
According to Professor Tao, mathematics has historically been one of the few fields that never experienced a true 'division of labor'—the master craftsman still had to personally execute every single step, from conceptualization to detailed verification. However, the rise of large language models (LLMs) and formal proof systems is changing this. Tao predicts that mathematicians will soon shift to the role of 'architects,' focusing on formulating hypotheses and high-level reasoning structures, while AI takes on the tedious task of verifying the correctness of the smallest logical steps.
Why It Matters
This is not just an academic matter. The fact that AI can participate in fields requiring absolute precision like mathematics demonstrates its potential to replace or assist humans in highly complex technical tasks. For the research community in Vietnam, this is a signal that skills in 'problem formulation' and 'systems thinking' will become more crucial than ever, as 'computation technicians' or 'proofreaders' may soon be replaced by machines.