Kick-off event: AI and the future of mathematics and physics - 21.10.2026
In light of recent developments, the incoming kick-off event at the Institut Henri Poincaré will take the form of a debate gathering mathematicians and theoretical physicists around the role of AI in the practice of research. Registration: indico.math.cnrs.fr/event/17376/.
Round table + debate
Invited contributions
Simon Machado, Miranda Cheng, François Charton, Antoine Chambert-Loir, Antoine Tilloy, Baptiste Cerclé, Sylvia Serfaty
Abstract:The round-table discussion will revolve around the following 10 questions:
- How do you use AI in your work, if at all, and why?
- What will our jobs as mathematicians and physicists look like in five years?
- Should our communities engage with AI labs, or refuse?
- What should a career in mathematics or physics look like for someone starting a PhD today?
- What do we lose if AI solves problems faster than humans can understand the solutions?
- How should our journals and publication system adapt?
- Should the way we evaluate mathematicians and physicists change, what should be valued?
- How can we justify funding fundamental research if the applied parts can be done by AI?
- Do mathematicians and physicists have something to contribute to AI safety? Should they?
- Are humans necessary for advancing frontier knowledge?