OpenAI on Monday announced a new independent advisory group hosted by the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. The group, called the Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence Advisory Group, aims to give mathematicians further input into the company’s mathematics-oriented research.
“This group will serve as a bridge between the mathematics community and the broader public, giving mathematicians a voice in how we move forward,” the post reads.
The announcement comes after a solution to the Navier Stokes Millennium Prize problem was suddenly announced. As part of the new group’s announcement, OpenAI also claims that the same internal model has solved more than 100 additional open problems across most areas of mathematics.
Many prominent mathematicians dispute the breakneck pace of the results. Earlier this month, 25 Fields Medal-winning mathematicians signed an open letter claiming that their intellectual work is under threat as AI labs seek to outdo each other in solving famous math problems.
As its name suggests, OpenAI’s new group will primarily play an advisory role, assessing the significance of new results and coordinating their release. Although members are not paid, they can provide unsolicited advice, air their opinions, and manage their own members, giving them a degree of independence from the company.
However, this group will not be given any leeway to slow down or redirect OpenAI’s ongoing mathematical research. As the blog post states, “This group is not responsible for advising us on how to pace our internal progress in mathematics.”
The Institute for Advanced Study emphasized this point in its own announcement. “While we provide advice, we do not have decision-making authority in any AI company and are responsible for their decisions,” the institute said in a press release.
Nine prominent mathematicians were named as initial members of the group. Remarkably, only one member, IAS Camilo de Lellis, also signed the Fields Medalist letter.
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