We cannot suddenly move the goalposts and pretend that proving theorems was never the point, or that open problems were merely proxies for mathematical understanding. For quite some time, the implicit social contract has been that society pays us to exercise our intellectual curiosity and we, in return, provide skills and practical knowledge. In a world where models match or exceed humans at proving theorems, that social contract needs to be renegotiated with humility rather than entitlement. Even if this future supports fewer professional mathematicians, it could nevertheless support a much richer mathematical life. theorydish.blog