Wir müssen wissen – wir werden wissen

A century after Hilbert, Gödel, and Turing established that a complete mathematical system is impossible, AI-powered proof assistants like Lean are now realizing Hilbert's dream of automating theorem proving, fundamentally disrupting mathematics and computer science. While mathematicians have adapted by using these tools to formalize proofs, computer scientists are increasingly abandoning the practice of reading AI-generated code—abandoning the discipline's core strength of understanding exactly how programs work. This represents a profound loss of what the author argues is science's essential soul: the pursuit of genuine understanding rather than mere mechanical computation.