AI community clashes over OpenAI math proofs: 'nobody needs anyone's permission to do research'
ludwigABAP · x · 2026-10-10
A heated exchange over OpenAI's published math proofs and pushback from mathematicians. ludwigABAP argues the statement "mathematicians did not ask for this work to be done" is ridiculous in isolation — a guild defending privilege narrative — though somewhat anchored by OpenAI's earlier public statement weeks prior. He criticizes the poor communication from all sides and notes the discussion is extremely difficult under asymmetry of information.
Core counterpoint (from the original post): if the proofs are mostly correct, they're a contribution to shared knowledge; if mostly wrong, OpenAI messed up. Mistakes are expected, as in human mathematics — nobody needs permission to do research.
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