OpenAI sets up advisory group to address mathematicians' concerns
What's the story
OpenAI has announced the formation of an independent advisory group, the Advisory Group on Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence. The group will be hosted at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Its main purpose is to provide mathematicians with a platform to voice their opinions on the company's math-oriented research.
Group's role
Group aims to give mathematicians a voice
The newly formed group will act as a bridge between the mathematical community and the general public.
It aims to give mathematicians a voice in how OpenAI progresses with its research.
The announcement comes after OpenAI's internal model solved over 100 long-standing open problems in various fields of mathematics, including the Navier-Stokes Millennium Prize problem.
Advisory capacity
Advisory group's independence from OpenAI
The Advisory Group on Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence will mainly serve in an advisory capacity. It will evaluate the importance of new results and coordinate their release.
Though members won't be paid, they can offer unsolicited advice, publicly express their opinions, and control their own membership. This gives them some independence from OpenAI.
However, it's important to note that the group won't have any power over OpenAI's internal mathematical research pace or direction.
AI impact
Response to mathematicians' fears
The formation of the advisory group comes amid concerns from mathematicians over the increasing use of solving complex mathematical problems as a benchmark for AI systems.
OpenAI is setting up this group partly in response to these fears.
The company referenced an open letter titled "A Severe Misalignment of AI in Mathematics," where mathematicians expressed concerns about using solutions to open problems as a measure of AI progress.