OpenAI claims to have solved maths problem that stumped humans for decades

OpenAI, the company behind the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT, claims to have solved a complex mathematical problem known as the Navier-Stokes problem, which had baffled mathematicians for nearly a century. The team of 10,000 AI systems worked on the challenge and found a solution in just 88 hours. This accomplishment comes just days after mathematician Tristan Buckmaster, who works at New York University, and a researcher from Anthropic, another rival AI company, announced their own breakthrough on the same problem.

However, Buckmaster later expressed concerns that OpenAI may have used his work during the development of their solution, as his research was stored in OpenAI’s Codex model.

In a statement, OpenAI denied any wrongdoing and said that they were inspired to work on the Navier-Stokes problem after hearing rumors that the two mathematicians had solved it. The company stated that they cannot rule out that data from the pair’s work may have indirectly helped improve their models. The Navier-Stokes problem asks whether equations used to describe the movement of fluids like air and water can fail under certain conditions. OpenAI’s solution to the problem was verified by their GPT-6 Astra model in just 17 hours.

While OpenAI takes pride in this achievement, the company's announcement has also sparked controversy and raised concerns about the development and safety of advanced AI models. The Navier-Stokes problem is one of seven Millennium Prize Problems identified by the Clay Mathematics Institute to highlight some of the biggest unsolved puzzles in the field.

Solving any of these problems comes with a $1 million prize. OpenAI did not intend to claim the prize, but the success demonstrates how powerful AI models can impact the field of mathematics and lead to significant breakthroughs.