PreprintCC BY 4.0arXiv
The Mathematician Leads: Building a Research Profile in the Age of Frontier AI
Abstract
I propose that mathematicians who use AI in research maintain a research profile: a record of what the system has learned about working with them, where those lessons came from, and whether they remain useful. I describe how such a profile grew out of my own mathematical work, through corrections, failed approaches, and repeated attempts to keep difficult ideas from drifting toward easier ones. The profile is not a portrait of the mathematician and does not replace mathematical judgment. It belongs under the mathematician's control and must remain open to revision. I invite others to develop profiles of their own and report what they learn.
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BibTeX
@misc{hofer2026mathematician,
title = {{The Mathematician Leads: Building a Research Profile in the Age of Frontier AI}},
author = {Helmut H. W. Hofer},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2608.28369},
eprint = {2608.28369},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.28369},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The Mathematician Leads: Building a Research Profile in the Age of Frontier AI
AU - Helmut H. W. Hofer
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/28
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2608.28369
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.28369
AB - I propose that mathematicians who use AI in research maintain a research profile: a record of what the system has learned about working with them, where those lessons came from, and whether they remain useful. I describe how such a profile grew out of my own mathematical work, through corrections, failed approaches, and repeated attempts to keep difficult ideas from drifting toward easier ones. The profile is not a portrait of the mathematician and does not replace mathematical judgment. It belongs under the mathematician's control and must remain open to revision. I invite others to develop profiles of their own and report what they learn.
ER -