The Proof That Woke a Child
Hugo Duminil-Copin cried on a Tuesday night. His daughter woke up. The Fields Medalist was responding to OpenAI’s October release of mathematical manuscripts, at least sixteen of which addressed questions directly related to his research. Le Monde reported his account of that night and his judgment that the company had annihilated his field. I keep returning to the child who woke up. Her presence changes the scale of the story. A research release entered a house after dark, and a father who had spent years learning how to attack difficult questions saw part of his life’s work absorbed into a catalogue. His grief deserves a hearing before anyone turns it into a joke about experts fearing unemployment. His chance to finish some of that work himself may be gone, even if the mathematics proves sound and benefits other people later.

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