After AI solved the amenability problem he studied for 19 years, mathematician says the cognac will feel like a wake
nitarshan · x · 2026-10-19
OpenAI's October 6, 2026 announcement included a solution to the long-standing amenability problem for Thompson's group F. Mathematician Justin Moore, who has worked on it for 19 years since his Cornell days, wrote a personal reflection: he'll open a saved bottle of cognac only once trusted peers collectively verify and understand the proof — and won't invite anyone from OpenAI, since it was "meant for stakeholders in the problem." He suspects the tasting will feel more like a wake than a celebration. Moore argues math is a science — whoever solves a problem is first, regardless of resources — but the "Olympic sport" view of math is increasingly hard to defend: AI is separating knowledge-seeking from human intellectual contest in an uncomfortable way.
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