AI’s Impact on Undergraduate Math Research: Lessons from Duluth

Summary

A new article examines how artificial intelligence affected the 2026 summer mathematics research program at the University of Minnesota Duluth. The authors write from direct experience with the program and focus on practical observations rather than predictions about the long-term future of professional mathematics. They describe where AI was useful, where it introduced potential pitfalls, what surprised the organizers, and how they adapted their practices. The article also identifies aspects of the program that went well and others the authors wish had been handled differently. The authors do not claim to resolve the broader question of how AI will reshape mathematics; instead, they present the Duluth program as a concrete case for thinking about how to prepare future research mathematicians.