Over the past couple of months, several researchers have begun making the same provocative claim: They used generative-AI tools to solve a previously unanswered math problem.
The most extreme promisesβAI-assisted resolutions to some of the hardest problems in mathematicsβmay well turn out to be empty hype. But a number of AI-written solutions, albeit to far less lauded problems, have checked out. These were answers to a number of the ErdΕs Problemsβmore than 1,000 mathematical questions set forth by the Hungarian mathematician Paul ErdΕsβwritten with generative-AI models including ChatGPT. OpenAI quickly claimed a victory: βGPT-5.2 Pro for solving another open ErdΕs problem,β OpenAI President Greg Brockman posted on X in January. βGoing to be a wild year for mathematical and scientific advancement!β (OpenAI and The Atlantic have a corporate partnership.)
Much of the excitement around the news has stemmed from the adjudicator of these AI-written proofs: Terence Tao, a professor at UCLA who is widely considered to be the worldβs greatest living mathematician. His stamp of approval seemingly legitimizes the greatest promise of generative AIβto push the frontier of human knowledge and civilization.
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