Machine Assisted Proofs
Terence Tao, University of California, Los Angeles
MAA Earle Raymond Hedrick Lecture Series

Thursday, August 7
MAA MathFest 2025

Abstract: For centuries, mathematicians have relied on computers to perform calculations, to suggest conjectures, and as components of mathematical proofs. In the light of more modern tools such as interactive theorem provers, machine learning algorithms, and generative AI, we are beginning to see machines used in more creative and substantive ways in our work. In this talk we survey some historical and recent developments, and speculate on the future roles of machine assistance in mathematics.

Biography: Terence Tao was born in Adelaide, Australia in 1975. He has been a professor of mathematics at UCLA since 1999, having completed his PhD under Elias Stein at Princeton in 1996.  Tao's areas of research include harmonic analysis, PDE, combinatorics, and number theory.  He has received a number of awards, including the Salem Prize in 2000, the Fields Medal in 2006, the MacArthur Fellowship in 2007, the Crafoord prize in 2012, and the Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics in 2015.  Terence Tao also holds the James and Carol Collins chair in mathematics at UCLA, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Australian Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  From 2021 to 2024, he served on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.