GPT-5.6 Reportedly Solves Long-Standing Statistics Problem

新智元 · wechat · 2026-07-16

This article discusses a long-standing open question in statistics: whether the BH procedure always controls the FDR under the correlated two-sided Gaussian test.

According to the article, Wharton statistics professor Edgar Dobriban and related discussions indicate that GPT-5.6 constructed a counterexample in about 90 minutes, demonstrating that the BH procedure might lose FDR control in this scenario. The article also notes:

The underlying BH procedure is a classic method for multiple hypothesis testing, widely used in high-throughput science.
For the past two decades, the academic community has lacked a rigorous proof or counterexample.
GPT-5.6's approach is described as combining standard asymptotic analysis with numerical certificates, accompanied by a code repository for verification.
The author interprets this as AI entering the realm of "constructive discovery," potentially shifting scientific research paradigms.

The conclusion reminds readers that the practical impact on high-throughput science still requires further validation.

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GPT-5.6 Reportedly Solves Long-Standing Statistics Problem

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