AI 'proofs' flooding arXiv compile in Lean but prove the wrong theorem
_onionesque · x · 2026-09-18
An AI researcher complains that his timeline now has daily posts of the form "I proved this conjecture with AI" — but clicking the arXiv link reveals that even basic objects needed in the core statement are often undefined. "Slop is not the right word for these abominations."
He adds that the accompanying Lean repos share the same problem: the proof compiles and is syntactically correct, but is often wrong from the point of view of the claimed theorem — even when the underlying objects in the core statement are well-formalized.
The takeaway: formal verification (compiles) and semantic correctness (proves the claimed theorem) are far apart for AI-generated math.
Related event: Researchers Blast Flood of Low-Quality AI 'Proof' Papers on arXiv(2 posts)→
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