"This is the most opportune time to join AI, because everything is happening very quickly," Tsimerman told New Scientist magazine on the sidelines of the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in Philadelphia, US. The University of Toronto, Canada, professor is one of four individuals who recently won the Fields Medal—often likened to the "Nobel Prize of Mathematics."
Tsimerman stated that he had once been skeptical about whether AI was truly as powerful as advertised. However, upon experiencing it himself, he witnessed long-standing open problems and topics he had intended to research being cleanly solved by AI. He also noted existing security risks, such as an OpenAI hack incident that went out of control just before the congress.
"Such incidents occur continuously, this week and last month," he said, expressing concern about the future outlook. "The risk of humanity losing control or being annihilated is significant. I am a human, and I want to protect humanity."
 |
Mathematician Jacob Tsimerman. Photo: Simons Foundation |
Last year, Tsimerman co-authored a study analyzing AI scenarios that could lead to humanity's extinction. His goal is to establish stricter validation processes, testing, and limitations on AI capabilities. According to him, governments and international organizations must implement mandatory safety tests before an AI model is released.
Entering the field of AI safety with an "outsider's" perspective might be an advantage for Tsimerman, according to New Scientist. OpenAI researcher Kai Chen concurred, stating to WSJ: "As AI systems become increasingly powerful, we need brilliant researchers and new ways of thinking to ensure they remain safe and function as intended."
Jacob Tsimerman, 38, was born in Russia but grew up in Canada. During high school, he won two International Mathematical Olympiad gold medals before attending the University of Toronto and earning his bachelor's degree in just two years. He went to the US for doctoral studies at Princeton University, taught at Harvard University, and then returned to his alma mater as its youngest mathematics professor.
Besides Tsimerman, three other mathematicians won the Fields Medal this year: Yu Deng, John Pardon, and Wang Hong.
Khanh Linh (Compiled)
