Making Mathematics Meaningful: Cognition and AI in a Changing World

Dates: May 10–14, 2027

Location: Harvard CMSA, 20 Garden Street, Cambridge MA 02138

This workshop begins with a simple proposition: mathematics is both a product of the mind and a lens through which we understand the world. To teach it effectively, we must understand not only its internal logics but also the pathways through which it is connected more broadly to human cognition and learning.

Over a period of five days in May 2027, we hope to explore the different facets of mathematical cognition, the different languages of mathematics, and how mathematics is taught and/or should be taught in the age of AI, by bringing together mathematicians, cognitive scientists, educators and AI researchers. Below is a rough outline of the themes for this workshop.

We hope that you will consider applying to and participating in this very topical workshop.

Topics

• Cognitive Foundations of Mathematics I: Biological and Neural Architecture
• Cognitive Foundations II & The Languages of Mathematics I: Perceptual Learning, Diagrams, and Symbols
• The Languages of Mathematics II: Dynamical Systems, Modeling, Uncertainty, and Digital Representations
• Learning, Communicating, and Teaching Mathematics
• Mathematics in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Organizers:

• L. Mahadevan, SEAS, Physics and Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
• Michael Freedman, CMSA, Harvard University
• Brendan Kelly, Mathematics, Harvard University
• Elizabeth Spelke, Psychology, Harvard University