Terence Tao made a very powerful point: “In most cases in pure mathematics, the problems are posed not because we desperately want the solution to these problems in and of themselves, but because we have seen from past experience that human-directed efforts to solve these problems tend to spur further development of the field through the efforts to solve such problems, and then to digest any partial or complete solutions that emerge for further insights. Prematurely solving the problem by purely AI-powered methods—particularly without full transparency into the solution process—can contaminate this process to the point where it actually becomes a net negative for the progress of mathematics as a whole.” I’ve been following Terence Tao for like 20 years, and I have always been impressed by the clarity of his thinking. This clarity stands out even more in this difficult moment, as AI labs turn mathematics into a battleground in their race for supremacy. In this race, they risk damaging one of humanity’s highest intellectual endeavours.