In less than four years, mathematician Steve Strogatz watched AI go from flailing at basic arithmetic to solving problems that baffle the world’s best mathematicians. In September of 2026, Open AI announced it had solved a Millennium Prize Problem, one of math’s highest achievements. In short, mathematics is right now on the cusp of a reckoning that may be coming for all of us. In this episode, Steve grapples with the idea that the window might be closing on humanity’s effort to unpuzzle, or learn, or understand the world around us.

Special thanks to Ravi Vakil, Alex Kontorovich, Bob Wright.

EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported by - Maria Paz Gutierrez and Soren Wheeler
Produced by - Soren Wheeler and Maria Paz Gutierrez
Fact-checking by - Diane Kelly
and Edited by - Pat Walters

EPISODE CITATIONS:

Videos -

• On deep learning for cancer diagnosis and treatment (https://zpr.io/TPnVfbPH8gTr), by Regina Barzilay (MIT Professor of AI & Health)

Articles -

• Mathematics Isn’t Just a Game to Let A.I. Solve. History Shows Why (https://zpr.io/n67amKFPuiYA), by Steven Strogatz and Alex Townsend
• OpenAI Releases Findings on 377 Math Problems, Further Roiling Field (https://zpr.io/YDjQXvYfqkvA), by Kenneth Chang and Siobhan Roberts

Books -

• Big Math: The Hidden Codes that rule our World (https://zpr.io/BFuYZ29qt8av), by Steven Strogatz and Alex Townsend

Sign up for our newsletter!! It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Signup (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!

Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing radiolab@wnyc.org.

Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Simons Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.