The Proof in the Code: A Conversation with Kevin Hartnett & Thomas Lin

The Proof in the Code: A Covnersation with Author Kevin Harnett & Publisher Thomas Lin

Speakers: Kevin Hartnett & Thomas Lin
Date: July 25, 2026, 1:15-2:15 pm

ABSTRACT

How do we know with complete certainty if something is true? This question looms large even, or especially, in mathematics, where proofs can grow dizzyingly long and abstract, or in generative AI models that cannot distinguish between fact and fiction.

Enter the computer program Lean, the latest in the centuries-long series of attempts to build a “truth oracle,” which has the potential to revolutionize how math is done. Kevin Hartnett, the author of the new book The Proof in the Code and Quanta Books publisher Thomas Lin will discuss the birth and rise of Lean; the future of how mathematicians work, collaborate, and assess truth; and the existential question: Can computers reveal universal truths?

SPEAKER BIO