Vladimir Voevodsky

The origins and motivations of Univalent Foundations: A personal mission to develop computer proof verification to avoid mathematical mistakes

https://www.ias.edu/ideas/2014/voevodsky-origins

in The institute letter

Abstract

In January 1984, Alexander Grothendieck submitted to the French National Centre for Scientific Research his proposal “Esquisse d’un Programme.” Soon copies of this text started circulating among mathematicians. A few months later, as a first-year undergraduate at Moscow University, I was given a copy of it by George Shabat, my first scientific adviser. After learning some French with the sole purpose of being able to read this text, I started to work on some of the ideas outlined there.