RESEARCH · RESEARCH · #671
Mathematicians allege OpenAI used their work in AI Navier–Stokes result, yet continue using its models
NYU mathematician Tristan Buckmaster says OpenAI used his approach and beat him to a purported solution of the Navier–Stokes existence and smoothness problem, while he and other researchers continue to use OpenAI’s Codex and competing models (Anthropic’s Claude) to assist their work. OpenAI amended its announcement and stated Buckmaster’s recent Codex prompts "could not have influenced the system," but several mathematicians say attribution, traceability, and trust remain unresolved.
KEY POINTS
- NYU mathematician Tristan Buckmaster says OpenAI used his approach and beat him to a purported solution of the Navier–Stokes existence and smoothness problem, while he and other researchers continue to use OpenAI’s Codex and competing models (Anthropic’s Claude) to assist their work.
- OpenAI amended its announcement and stated Buckmaster’s recent Codex prompts "could not have influenced the system," but several mathematicians say attribution, traceability, and trust remain unresolved.
- This matters because the dispute highlights unresolved questions about training data, attribution, and reproducibility when large AI systems produce major mathematical results, altering research norms and trust in scholarship.
WHY IT MATTERS
This matters because the dispute highlights unresolved questions about training data, attribution, and reproducibility when large AI systems produce major mathematical results, altering research norms and trust in scholarship.