OpenAI says its AI agents cracked the Navier-Stokes blow-up problem, shaking mathematics
Chris_Armstrong · x · 2026-09-14
Per New Scientist, OpenAI announced this week that its AI agents have resolved the famous blow-up question for the Navier-Stokes equations: solutions can indeed blow up, with fluid velocity becoming infinite in places.
- The Navier-Stokes equations, written down 200 years ago, govern fluid motion; the blow-up question is one of the $1 million Millennium Prize Problems.
- The result doesn't mean real fluids misbehave — it means the equations aren't perfect, good news for physics but potentially transformative for mathematics.
- The piece frames AI as both the best and worst thing to happen to math, and cites Terence Tao's criticism that AI companies are harming mathematics.
Related event: OpenAI Claims AI Agent Solved the Navier–Stokes Blow-up Problem(8 posts)→
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