Mathematicians say OpenAI's Navier-Stokes proof dodges the real Clay problem
PolarBearby · x · 2026-09-22
Two weeks after OpenAI claimed its internal LLM had solved the Navier-Stokes problem — potentially eligible for the Clay Mathematics Institute's $1 million prize — three mathematicians argue the proof sidesteps the actual question. The LLM-built proof targets a variant of the problem, exploiting an external force to break the equations, which experts like UChicago's Luis Silvestre call disconnected from real fluid dynamics. "The Clay problem is settled, but the main problem for the Navier-Stokes equations is not," Silvestre says. The controversy raises whether the model found a loophole in the problem's framing rather than a genuine breakthrough.
Related event: OpenAI's Navier-Stokes Claim Draws Widespread Backlash from Mathematicians(16 posts)→
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