What AI means for the fate of mathematics
AI generated
asserted
means → mean → mathematics
NEW YORK - OpenAI has rattled the quiet world of mathematics by using artificial intelligence to solve a major, century-old problem, raising the question of what role mathematicians will play in scientific research going forward.
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mathematicians → rattle → research
Earlier in September, thousands of its AI agents worked together to solve the Navier-Stokes equations – which generations of mathematicians have tried to tackle – in a matter of four days.
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generations → work → days
UCLA professor Terence Tao, who has won the elite Fields Medal recognising the world’s most esteemed mathematicians, told AFP: “I am currently completely overwhelmed with an existential crisis in my field.”
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I → win → field
The recent shake-up to the field is the latest in a series of instances of AI making mathematical breakthroughs in 2026.
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AI → make → 2026
“If they did choose to study the questions that we find interesting in research, they would be very easy.
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they → choose → research
They could solve those problems easily,” said Steven Strogatz, a Cornell University professor for the public understanding of science and mathematics.
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Strogatz → solve → science
Antonio Auffinger, a Northwestern University math professor, said that just a year ago, “hallucinations were happening all the time,” but nowadays, “AI can produce long chain arguments,” without wandering off course.
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AI → say → course
In January, Elon Musk – the world’s richest man and an AI chief himself through SpaceXAI – predicted mathematics would be “crushed,” saying “math is going to be extremely trivial for AI” on a podcast.
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math → predict → podcast
Yet, while Northwestern University math professor Benjamin Antieau said there is “awe and amazement” for the feat, “in this particular case, they were following in the footsteps of other mathematicians who’d been developing this programmatic approach to this particular class of problems for many, many years.”
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who → say → years
In this case, the AI mainly followed two Spanish researchers, who were also the inspiration for mathematicians Tristan Buckmaster and Levent Alpoge – who claim they came close to the solution before OpenAI’s breakthrough and are now questioning if their work was plagiarised – a charge the AI tech giant denies.
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giant → follow → breakthrough
That’s not the only issue with OpenAI’s calculations.
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That → ’ → calculations
“The flag is captured, the goal scored, and the problem is solved; but at the cost of lessons learned, insights gained, collaborations formed, and new targets located,” Tao wrote on Mastodon.
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Tao → capture → Mastodon
Tao was among 25 Fields Medal laureates who signed a letter on Sept 11 to warn of a potential “destructive effect” by AI on the field of mathematics.
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who → sign → mathematics
To boot, Stanford University professor Mohammed Abouzaid said the technology’s lack of imagination is apparent.
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lack → say → imagination
“We are still not seeing the kind of leaps of creativity that really involve creating new mathematics, and maybe the labs are going to make that their next target, and that would be very interesting to see,” Abouzaid said.
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Abouzaid → see → mathematics
Anima Anandkumar, a Caltech professor working at the intersection of mathematics and AI, succeeded with her team in solving a simplified form of the Navier-Stokes equations (known as Euler equations) using an AI model that did not rely on prior works from researchers.
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that → work → researchers
This AI was not like the ones powering ChatGPT or Claude, but rather a physics-informed neural network (PINN) model, which combines data with the laws of physics.
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which → power → physics
“So, you could think of OpenAI as being more reliant on humans than we are in some sense,” she said.
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she → think → sense
However, Anandkumar notes that the model still had to be designed and tested.
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model → note → ?
Auffinger said he does not foresee a time when AI tools “would be able to provide answers for any questions that you ask” and that human mathematicians will continue to “play a huge role because it’s not about how to go from point A to point B.”
“It’s about asking the questions that will help society as a whole,” he explained.
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he → say → whole
The Aporia
