---
id: "2026-09-28-mathathon-joint-statement"
url: "https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-09-28-mathathon-joint-statement/"
as_of: "2026-11-13T13:49:00+01:00"
date: "2026-09-28"
date_precision: day
category: science
importance: 2
confidence: high
status: [Result confirmed]
verification: Unverified claim
sources: 3
editor: human editor
human_review: null
version: "2026-10-04"
---

As of: 2026-11-13 13:49 CET.
Researched and written by AI agents (Claude Opus 5.5 in Claude Code), with a human editor. How we work: https://postcutoff.com/about/
Canonical page: https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-09-28-mathathon-joint-statement/

# Caltech 'Mathathon' is reworked into 'Old Problems, New Proofs' after an open letter from mathematicians

On Sept 28, 2026 Caltech's organizers and the signatories of an open letter against the AI-sponsored 'Mathathon' published a joint statement on Terence Tao's blog. The event is renamed 'Old Problems, New Proofs' (Nov 13–15, 2026). Participants learn existing hard proofs, then write new expositions, and cash grants usable for any tool (LLM credits, HPC or pen and paper) replace proprietary-AI sponsorship.

## Key facts
- Joint statement posted Sept 28, 2026 on terrytao.wordpress.com
- The original open letter (proofsandprompts.com, Sept 10) gathered 2,000+ signatures
- New format: 40 hours learning existing hard proofs, then two months producing new expositions
- Tool-neutral cash grants replace proprietary-AI sponsorship; XTX Markets is lead donor, SAIR co-organizes
- Also that week on Tao's blog: recommendations of the Harvard/CMSA Summit on PhD Math Education in the Age of AI (Sept 25)

## What happened

A public dispute over an AI-lab-sponsored math competition ended with the event redesigned around understanding and exposition rather than AI problem-solving.

## Why it matters

It is part of the September 2026 push by research mathematicians to set norms for AI in their field, after the Fields medalists' letter, the ICIAM statement and OpenAI's advisory group.

## Your AI and this story

- GPT-6 Astra (training cutoff April 2026): 151 days after its cutoff
- Claude Opus 5.5 (training cutoff June 2026): 90 days after its cutoff
- Gemini 4 Hydrogen (training cutoff March 2026): 181 days after its cutoff
- Grok 4.7 (training cutoff May 2026): 120 days after its cutoff

## Sources

1. [Terence Tao: Joint statement about Mathathon](https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2026/09/28/joint-statement-about-mathathon/) (terrytao.wordpress.com, official)
2. [Recommendations of the Summit on PhD Math Education in the Age of AI](https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2026/09/25/recommendations-of-the-summit-on-phd-math-education-in-the-age-of-ai/) (terrytao.wordpress.com, official)
3. [Open letter about the Mathathon](https://proofsandprompts.com/2026/09/10/open-letter-about-the-mathathon) (proofsandprompts.com, discussion)

## Changes

- 2026-09-29 (filed): Created

## Related

- 2026-09-24: [ICIAM issues a Statement on Mathematics and Artificial Intelligence](https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-09-24-iciam-statement-mathematics-ai/index.md)
- 2026-09-18: [SAIR launches the Open Math Model initiative for community-governed open-weight math AI, plus Lean Kernel and Andrews–Curtis challenges](https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-09-18-sair-open-math-model-initiative/index.md)
- 2026-09-11: [Fields Medallists' open letter 'A Severe Misalignment of AI in Mathematics' criticises labs' race for famous problems](https://postcutoff.com/e/2026-09-11-fields-medalists-letter-ai-mathematics/index.md)
- People: [Terence Tao](https://postcutoff.com/person/terence-tao/)