It's been a while since I've written under the "journeys" category. Recently I've spoken a lot about AI and AI in mathematics; this is in a way the culmination of "everything that's changed" since my Journeys V post in early 2025. Many things have changed, yet many things remain the same.

I've watched mathematicians descend into existential chaos and non-mathematicians descend into a different kind of existential chaos—either way, it's existential chaos. So what do I do?

Aside from a few friends who seem to fit into the scope of a changing world, most people are either ignorant of the increasing probability of their obsolescence, avoid the idea entirely, or have given up. I have said this ad nauseam, but as someone who is not very interested in the emerging field of "AI safety" and working on AI alignment, I believe that, in the spirit of simultaneously pushing against the looming cloud of obsolescence and re-evaluating my desire for human purpose, I will need to apply a genuine interdisciplinary lens to everything I do and am interested in.

Perhaps there is some nobility to working in AI safety in the short term, but I think I find novelty less in reactionary endeavours and more in pure endeavours. By "pure" I mean less-so literal "pure" mathematics and more-so endeavouring to understand humanity and society for its own sake—perhaps a human abstraction of pure mathematics. In my long meanderings, I have become interested in a few important fields: linguistics (computational, cognitive), foreign policy, and philosophy, though the latter is perhaps more recreational in my mind. The intersection of my existing interests and these fields seems to lie in an interdisciplinary area of study known as (computational) complexity theory. While there is no explicit "complexity theory" objective, it makes sense to me to work toward this general idea and gradually narrow my scope as I acquire more skills in each respect.

I have also spoken much about reforming education in mathematics and improving the communication of mathematical purpose both within and beyond the mathematical community. The cryptic language and notions of mathematics do not help convey the mission of mathematics, and as a result, society could not care less about it. Hypothetically, I believe a significant component in the treatment of AI in mathematics involves education reform, AI policy reform (or the creation thereof), greater unionization of mathematicians within the mathematical community, and an address to the PhD problem (I would be a great supporter of oral exams!). In a perfect world, I would hope to be a direct contributor toward resolving the AI problem in mathematics, both politically and technically and from the view of advocacy, but from the way I see it, I will never be able to move beyond the sidelines. Grand ideals just don't make sense anymore.

It would seem pathetic perhaps to back away when confronted with complexity (pun not intended) in the field of pure mathematics, but perhaps it is more a recreational endeavour, that, while possessing a beautiful landscape comparable to, say, Yosemite National Park, with its elegant landmarks and fairly clear-marked paths, should only be trodden when there is a greater sense of unity amongst humanity and the people who care about mathematics. This is not to say that mathematics research should not continue and that I should not wish to partake, but it is an admission that, in this moment, pure mathematics is too good for its own good—in its current state, society does not deserve it.

So what do I do? Should I put down my fountain pen and Kuru Toga to go fight other battles? No. There is something exquisite about striking the correct balance between self-perceived human purpose and genuine human utility. I'm still figuring out what that balance is, but I will sure as hell find it.