Fields Medalist Deng Yu Warns Against Over-Reliance on AI
Fields Medalist and University of Chicago professor Deng Yu warned at a recent forum that humans must not abandon independent thinking and rely excessively on AI. He emphasized that mathematics will remain a crucial medium for human cognition. This perspective highlights growing concerns among top scientists regarding the philosophical and intellectual implications of rapid AI adoption. It stresses the irreplaceable value of human critical thinking and the enduring relevance of fundamental disciplines like mathematics. Deng Yu noted that mathematics is the purest discipline for testing human exploratory abilities and believes that mathematics will never vanish in the age of AI. He previously received the Fields Medal at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia for solving Hilbert's sixth problem.
## BACKGROUND
The Fields Medal is awarded every four years to up to four mathematicians under 40 for groundbreaking contributions, widely regarded as the highest honor in mathematics. Hilbert's sixth problem, one of 23 problems posed by David Hilbert in 1900, involves the axiomatic treatment of physics using mathematical methods.