From 'we're cooked' to AI acceptance: Sam Altman on mathematicians' changing fears

Sam Altman said mathematicians are adapting to AI after initially fearing obsolescence. He sees their rapid shift as an early indicator for other professions.Speaking at Stanford University, Altman described how the mathematical community’s reaction to AI shifted rapidly from disbelief and anxiety to anger and, eventually, adaptation (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)New Delhi,Oct 23, 2026 08:50 ISTOpenAI CEO Sam Altman says mathematicians are beginning to accept artificial intelligence as part of their profession after initially fearing that the technology could make their field obsolete.Speaking at Stanford University, Altman described how the mathematical community’s reaction to AI shifted rapidly from disbelief and anxiety to anger and, eventually, adaptation.“The day one reaction was like, ‘We’re cooked, and our field is over,’” Altman said, recalling how some researchers feared for the future of their careers. By around the fifth day, however, he said mathematicians had started considering how AI could reshape their work.“We’ve now seen a lot of people say, actually, I’m going to have a different but hopefully better kind of career as a mathematician,” he said. The reaction followed OpenAI’s September announcement that its AI models had solved the long-standing Navier–Stokes mathematical problem. The claim sparked controversy among researchers over the role of AI in mathematical discovery, the verification of AI-generated proofs and concerns about the possible use of researchers’ data.Despite the backlash, Altman said he did not expect AI to trigger a widespread jobs apocalypse. He argued that mathematics had experienced the disruption faster than other fields, offering an early glimpse of how professions might adapt to increasingly capable AI systems.ALTMAN’S BROADER VIEW ON AI AND JOBS Altman has also offered a cautiously optimistic assessment of AI’s impact on employment. Speaking at the India AI Summit in February, he said technology has historically disrupted jobs while creating new kinds of work.“Technology always disrupts jobs. We always find new and better things to do,” he said.He acknowledged that machines could outperform humans in certain tasks, noting that it would be difficult to compete with the computing power of a graphics processing unit in many areas. However, he argued that human qualities such as empathy, connection and concern for others would remain important.At IIT Delhi, Altman also warned students against relying blindly on traditional career advice, saying AI would eliminate some jobs while creating roles that do not yet exist.His comments suggest that, rather than resisting AI outright, workers and professionals will need to adapt as the technology changes how knowledge is produced and work is performed.- Ends