Live from ICM 2026: What Is Math For in the Age of AI?

Mathematicians are witnessing a profound shift in their field. AI systems are now producing proofs, spotting connections between distant fields, and, in a few cases, solving problems that had stumped mathematicians for decades. The pace of progress over the past several months has raised challenging questions: What can AI systems actually do?

And what happens to the more human, creative aspects of the field once machines can match – or exceed – people at problem-solving? In this special live episode of The Joy of Why, recorded at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia on July 26, 2026, hosts Janna Levin and Steven Strogatz are joined by three mathematicians responding to the rise of AI in math: Akshay Venkatesh at the Institute for Advanced Study; Ravi Vakil at Stanford University and president of the American Mathematical Society; and Alex Kontorovich at Rutgers University. Together they discuss what recent AI-generated proofs really demonstrate, what will be gained and lost as mathematics becomes more machine-assisted at the frontier, and what this means for the next generation of mathematicians.

The conversation turns to a deeper question: What do mathematicians value about doing mathematics in the first place? The answer involves grappling with what proof and understanding really mean, and the surprising importance of storytelling. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn or your favorite podcasting app, or you can stream it from Quanta.

JANNA LEVIN: Thank you so much for being here. LEVIN: And this is The Joy of Why. Welcome to our first live.

STROGATZ: Yes, The Joy of Why, a podcast where we consider some of the biggest unanswered questions in math and science today. And we’re very excited to be coming to you from the International Congress of Mathematicians 2026. It really does feel like a historic moment.

The stakes are pretty high for the future of math. And we’ve had a good run for three, four thousand years doing this on our own. But there’s a new kid in town — artificial intelligence.