Fields Medalist Jacob Tsimerman, 38, Shifts Research to Artificial Intelligence
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 23
Fields Medalist Jacob Tsimerman, 38, Shifts Research to Artificial Intelligence
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 23
Summary
Jacob Tsimerman, a 38-year-old University of Toronto mathematician and newly honored Fields Medal winner, is redirecting his research from number theory toward the foundations of artificial intelligence.
AI’s rapid spread across professions, including mathematics itself, is driving the move; Tsimerman said mathematicians can help build a more rigorous understanding of how such systems work.
That work, he said, could also help ensure AI systems “do not run amok,” giving pure mathematicians a role in the safety and theoretical underpinnings of the technology.
Tsimerman’s shift marks a turn from the number theory research that earned this year’s Fields Medal, a field he described as generating deep questions that often draw on other areas to solve them.