The 61st International Mathematical Olympiad, or IMO, begins today. It may go down in history for at least two reasons: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic it's the first time the event has been held remotely, and it may also be the last time that artificial intelligence doesn't compete. Indeed, researchers view the IMO as the ideal proving ground for machines designed to think like humans. If an AI system can excel here, it will have matched an important dimension of human cognition. "The IMO, to me, represents the hardest class of problems that smart people can be taught to solve somewhat reliably," said Daniel Selsam of Microsoft Research.

Data scientists are trying to build an AI system that can win a gold medal at the world's premier math competition Indeed, researchers view the IMO as the ideal proving ground for machines designed to think like humans. If an AI system can excel here, it will have matched an important dimension of human cognition. "The IMO, to me, represents the hardest class of problems that smart people can be taught to solve somewhat reliably," said Daniel Selsam of Microsoft Research. Selsam is a founder of the IMO Grand Challenge, whose goal is to train an AI system to win a gold medal at the world's premier math competition. The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is a mathematical olympiad for pre-college students, and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads.

Reprinted with permission from Quanta Magazine's Abstractions blog. The 61st International Mathematical Olympiad, or IMO, began yesterday. It may go down in history for at least two reasons: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic it's the first time the event has been held remotely, and it may also be the last time that artificial intelligence doesn't compete. Indeed, researchers view the IMO as the ideal proving ground for machines designed to think like humans. If an AI system can excel here, it will have matched an important dimension of human cognition.