More than 1,000 mathematicians have joined the Association for Human Mathematics, pledging not to work with commercial AI firms
Wow, over 1,000 mathematicians have now joined the Association for Human Mathematics (AHM), committing to: > NOT publish AI generated math papers > NOT work with frontier labs > 654 of them went even further to NOT even use AI in their research, at all
Context
AI labs increasingly showcase math results as proof of progress and recruit mathematicians to help. An organized group of researchers refusing that work, and in many cases refusing AI tools at all, marks a growing split inside the field.
The Association for Human Mathematics publishes a public member list that it updates about weekly. New Scientist covered the group passing 1,000 members. The lead post was published at 8:32 PM Eastern on October 24.
Deep dive
Hesamation posted at 8:32 PM Eastern on October 24 that more than 1,000 mathematicians have joined the Association for Human Mathematics, committing not to publish AI generated math papers and not to work with frontier labs, and that 654 went further and pledged not to use AI in their research at all.
The screenshot in the post shows the pledge. Members commit not to work with commercial AI companies by providing technical labor, mathematical knowledge, consultation or publicity. They also commit not to publish mathematical texts generated by AI models, including papers, reviews, referee reports, lecture notes and books, and to publish only their own writing. An optional AI free caucus goes further: its members do not use AI models in a research capacity, such as finding proofs, exploring examples or posing research questions.
The group publishes its member list on its website and updates it about weekly. Note that the core pledge does not ban using AI tools; only the caucus does.
The move comes as labs promote AI results in mathematics, including models solving open problems and producing research papers, and as some mathematicians publicly collaborate with labs. Not every mathematician agrees, and many prominent researchers use AI tools openly.
What to expect next
Watch whether the group grows past academic circles and whether journals or societies respond to its stance on AI written papers and referee reports. Labs that rely on outside mathematicians for evaluation and data may find recruitment harder in some departments. The debate over credit and authorship in AI assisted proofs is likely to sharpen as labs publish more math results.