Priest, Monk, and Mathematician
Summary
The essay argues that AI, including large language models, is transforming the practice of mathematics into roles akin to a priest, then a monk, with AI handling interpretation, dissemination, and discovery at scale. It discusses the Leiden declaration and ongoing debates about human vs. machine-driven mathematics, and it envisions a future where human researchers become curators and students within an AI-augmented ecosystem. The piece provocatively questions whether this trajectory expands or diminishes human understanding and meaning in science.