Ray Myers contends mathematicians initially pursued a cooperative path with AI, combining large language models with symbolic proof assistants like Lean and Mathlib, but that partnership fractured when corporate behavior - exemplified by OpenAI - betrayed trust. He contrasts the modest, transparent contributions of Lean’s community and figures like Leonardo de Moura and Terence Tao with the hype, dishonesty, and labor-hostile tactics of well-funded labs. The core argument is that LLMs and symbolic systems are complementary, yet the AI gold rush has prioritized marketing, layoffs, and devaluation of workers, turning boosters into enablers of harm. Myers frames the industry’s conduct as narcissistic abuse, using concepts like “flying monkeys” and DARVO to explain how defenders obscure real grievances and attack critics.
The account traces a timeline: early advocacy for formal methods (Buzzard, Tao), Tao’s 2023 turn to Lean aided by ChatGPT, the author’s 2023 Mechanized Mending Manifesto and 2024 push for reliability, followed by escalating corporate misconduct - governmental austerity campaigns (DOGE), NSF funding cuts in 2025, massive OpenAI fundraising, and the October 2026 release of mathematical documents that provoked public letters from Fields medalists and the Association for Human Mathematics. Myers urges boundary-setting and an “aspiring Luddite” stance when technology is deceptive, degrades quality, or harms work conditions.
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