Altman Details OpenAI's Handling of Math Proof Drama: Offered Rival Team First Publication and Prize
basedjensen · x · 2026-09-09
Sam Altman broke his silence on the Euler/Navier-Stokes proof drama, saying the OpenAI team 'acted with integrity and generosity throughout.' He reveals OpenAI initially believed the other team had also solved the problem and wanted a joint release; upon learning they had Euler but not Navier-Stokes, OpenAI offered to let them publish first, suggested they take the prize, and offered Tristan lead authorship on a rewritten OpenAI proof.
The same couldn't be extended to Anthropic employee Levent, who refused to coordinate. Reposter zedlander calls it 'narrative violation': OpenAI handled the whole affair reasonably.
Related event: OpenAI Responds to Navier-Stokes Proof Attribution Dispute(34 posts)→
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