NEWS · COMPANIES · #1610
Mathematicians criticize OpenAI over planned release of AI-generated math solutions
WIRED reports that OpenAI told about 40 mathematicians its internal model has resolved the Navier–Stokes Millennium Prize problem and more than 100 other long‑standing open math problems, and that the company planned to publish hundreds of results (reportedly via GitHub). Attendees and other mathematicians say OpenAI and Anthropic’s release practices — blog posts and quick dumps rather than peer‑reviewed papers and proper attribution — risk undermining academic norms and have led to disputes over credit, including an allegation by Tristan Buckmaster about front‑running related work with an Anthropic collaborator.
KEY POINTS
- WIRED reports that OpenAI told about 40 mathematicians its internal model has resolved the Navier–Stokes Millennium Prize problem and more than 100 other long‑standing open math problems, and that the company planned to publish hundreds of results (reportedly via GitHub).
- Attendees and other mathematicians say OpenAI and Anthropic’s release practices — blog posts and quick dumps rather than peer‑reviewed papers and proper attribution — risk undermining academic norms and have led to disputes over credit, including an allegation by Tristan Buckmaster about front‑running related work with an Anthropic collaborator.
- If true, large AI models producing and being released as unvetted mathematical proofs could disrupt scholarly norms around verification, attribution, and publication in mathematics.
WHY IT MATTERS
If true, large AI models producing and being released as unvetted mathematical proofs could disrupt scholarly norms around verification, attribution, and publication in mathematics.