OpenAI spends $20M of compute to frontrun AI-assisted near-solution of century-old math problem
ctjlewis · x · 2026-09-10
Per Christina Qi's account: two groups of mathematicians made a lifetime breakthrough on a famous problem unsolved for nearly 100 years — but only solved a much easier version with heavy AI assistance. A false rumor then spread that Anthropic had solved the problem because one author worked there.
OpenAI decided to frontrun and spent $20 million of compute to attack the problem, which also carries a $1M prize. Some mathematicians now liken this to doping and call for banning AI on certain problem types to 'maintain the challenge.'
Related event: Millennium Prize rumor mix-up sparks OpenAI sprint controversy(6 posts)→
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