I do have empathy for the method
30 October 2026 (Business Insider). OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, discussing AI solving major math problems, on the Cheeky Pint podcast with Stripe president John Collison, October 2026.
Sam Altman says he has ‘empathy’ for mathematicians who are upset about AI
More from Sam Altman · AI and science · 2026
Who else?
What it refers to: The traditional path of mathematicians spending years working hard to solve problems, which AI now also attempts.
Other voices
- “I feel a twinge of sadness as a result” Alex Iosevich,
- “It just killed, bulldozered all the problems I was working on” Hugo Duminil-Copin, Researcher,
- “Human mathematicians are forevermore dethroned as the main theorem-proving entities on planet earth” Scott Aaronson,
- “There'll be nothing human mathematicians can do that AI can't do better” Richard Borcherds,
- “If we don't adapt, there's just no more math in 50 years, no one is doing it, not even the machines” Daniel Litt,










