Twenty-five Fields Medal winners have signed an open letter warning that AI labs are threatening their intellectual work by rushing to solve famous math problems. This week, OpenAI faced criticism after a professor accused it of pressuring him not to credit a collaborator who works for Anthropic. The AI’s proof remains unverified, raising questions about attribution and plagiarism.

OpenAI has withdrawn its sponsorship of a math event at CalTech after being criticized by researchers. The signatories argue that rushed AI solutions leave no time for proper write-up and development, and could disrupt the human transmission chain in mathematics.

The culture of open research is under threat as labs see a path to a discovery and can spend millions of dollars using LLMs to beat the original researchers to a proof. This dynamic incentivizes secrecy and could change the way work is done, potentially affecting all scientific and creative professions.

The letter follows the Leiden Declaration, which offers recommendations for mathematicians, institutions, and policymakers. The value of math isn’t just in the proofs and who gets credit, but in the intellectual superstructure that nourishes students, finds new questions and ideas, and integrates them into broader human civilization.