Caltech is hosting Mathathon, a 40-hour hackathon (Oct 30–Nov 1) that supplies teams with frontier AI models and $2M+ in credits to tackle open research-level math problems, defend their results to leading mathematicians, and compete for prizes with follow-up community verification. The event aims to explore how AI accelerates mathematical discovery and the evolving role of mathematicians.
A Harvard-led study used frequent real-time smartphone surveys and engagement metadata from 600+ high-risk adults and adolescents to predict 75% of suicide attempts and 87% of suicide-related events in the week before they occurred, finding agitation to be a stronger short-term risk signal than depression. The results point to scalable, just-in-time digital monitoring and intervention strategies to close gaps in clinical detection of transient suicide risk.
A new AI-assisted proof of the Spherical Hadwiger Theorem signals that large language models are beginning to do research-level mathematics, prompting the author to argue we must rethink how to support and value pure mathematicians—perhaps as a kind of cultural 'conservatory'—as AI takes on more of the technical labor. The piece frames the milestone, its implications for incentives and verification, and a call to preserve human-centered mathematical culture.