The Guardian view on AI v mathematicians: humans are still vital to the field, but tech firms refuse to see that | Editorial
OpenAI claims its agents have solved the Navier-Stokes problem. But questions remain about how useful and independent its work really is On 8 September, OpenAI claimed that its AI agents had solved the Navier-Stokes problem, one of the most famous and difficult challenges in mathematics. Had a human solved it, they would have collected both prize money and plaudits from their fellows. The…
The Guardian weighs in on the debate between artificial intelligence and mathematicians, asserting that humans remain indispensable to the field. However, tech giants like OpenAI are reluctant to acknowledge this fact. On September 8, OpenAI announced that its AI agents had solved the Navier-Stokes problem, a notoriously complex challenge in mathematics.
One might think that a human mathematician's achievement would garner accolades and prize money. Instead, the claim sparked an "existential crisis" among mathematicians over AI's capabilities and allegations of OpenAI's misuse of human work.
Mathematicians find the complexities of Navier-Stokes daunting, but the critiques directed at OpenAI resonate with the broader concerns of those wary of AI's impact. Like artists and office workers, anyone with an interest in AI must grapple with these issues. OpenAI's findings, like those produced by a large language model, rely on the labor of human mathematicians.
The company does cite sources, yet there are widespread suspicions that OpenAI did not adequately credit several mathematicians who were close to a solution. This disrespect for human ingenuity and the tendency to attribute all success to the AI system is unacceptable.
Tristan Buckmaster, a mathematician working on Navier-Stokes with OpenAI's Codex model, has his own reservations. He believes that his work was observed by the OpenAI team, though the company denies directly accessing this material. However, the company cannot rule out that data from Buckmaster's use of their products "helped improve our model."
OpenAI's actions in claiming to solve the Navier-Stokes problem, without proper acknowledgment of human contributions, raise serious questions about the ethics and practicality of AI in mathematical research.
Written by urgent.news from Guardian Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
