Lance Fortnow: AI now finds theorem proofs on its own, Optiland arrived five years early
fortnow · x · 2026-11-05
Complexity theorist Lance Fortnow reflects on AI approaching "Optiland" — the goodies of P=NP without breaking cryptography. In 2022 he argued ML couldn't even do basic arithmetic and was far from AI verifying his informal proofs; within five years AI systems not only fill in proof details but find proofs themselves, including a computer-generated formalized proof of Navier-Stokes. He gave up predicting what AI will prove next but still believes P vs NP requires new techniques AI won't invent on its own, and asks: what practical P=NP problems remain that AI and optimization can't already solve?
More from AGI Musings
- Gradual Disempowerment: AI replacing human roles may erode institutional accountability — ryan_t_lowe · 2026-11-05
- Paper asks whether LLMs are rational: coherence norms published in AI journal — peterbhase · 2026-11-05
- Researchers clash over whether aligning AI to human goals wrongs the AI itself — rgblong · 2026-11-05
- The Data Efficiency Gap Between Humans and AI: No System Has Both Targets — dyamins · 2026-11-05
- Bill Gates: tax rules favor buying AI over hiring, accelerating white-collar replacement — rohanpaul_ai · 2026-11-05
- Karpathy: why pre-2000 sci-fi failed to predict AI's arrival — Hesamation · 2026-11-05