AI claims math proof, sparks controversy

OpenAI has reportedly made a significant claim regarding one of mathematics' most famous unsolved problems: the Navier-Stokes equations. The company asserts that its reasoning AI has generated a proof for these equations, which describe fluid motion and have challenged mathematicians for generations.

This purported breakthrough comes after OpenAI's AI successfully produced a proof for a long-standing conjecture by Paul Erdős earlier this year. The Navier-Stokes problem is one of seven Millennium Prize Problems, with a $1 million reward for a complete solution.

According to OpenAI's account, an internal AI model produced a roughly 100-page proof in mere days. This follows OpenAI's awareness of progress made by mathematicians Tristan Buckmaster and Levent Alpöge on a related version of the equations.

Buckmaster and Alpöge's verified work demonstrated a potential singularity in the friction-free version of the Navier-Stokes equations. However, OpenAI's alleged proof remains undisclosed, preventing external scrutiny and verification.

Mathematicians have voiced skepticism, with Buckmaster questioning if OpenAI's models were trained on his private drafts. He also noted that OpenAI initially downplayed human assistance and later refused to clarify the influence of his work.

Further controversy arose when OpenAI allegedly asked Buckmaster to remove his co-author, Alpöge, due to his affiliation with a rival AI company. Buckmaster eventually released his early findings to establish a timeline of his research.

While these allegations do not definitively prove data misuse, they highlight the significant questions surrounding OpenAI's claim. The true impact of OpenAI's Navier-Stokes claim hinges on the public release and independent verification of its proof.