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OpenAI Confirms It's Holding Back on Math

After a researcher's claim that OpenAI deliberately left math capability underdeveloped, Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki confirmed the company prioritizes recursive self-improvement and automated alignment over math.

2026-09-07 ~ 2026-09-08 · 2 episodes · 4 posts

Episode 1 · OpenAI Reportedly Held Back Its Models' Math Capabilities (2026-09-07, 2 posts)

Jeff Ladish relayed claims by OpenAI's merettm that the company could have made its models far stronger at math but deprioritized it, suggesting current rapid math progress is still far from the ceiling.

OpenAI's merettm says models could be far better at math, they just haven't focused on it — JeffLadish · 2026-09-07
OpenAI insiders hint at huge math capability overhang: models could be far better but aren't a focus — pwlot · 2026-09-07

Episode 2 · OpenAI Chief Scientist Prioritizes RSI and Auto-Alignment Over Math (2026-09-08, 2 posts)

OpenAI's chief scientist Jakub Pachocki said its models could be much stronger at math with more effort, but the company is deliberately prioritizing recursive self-improvement (RSI) and automated alignment research instead.

OpenAI chief scientist Jakub Pachocki: models could be much better at math, but RSI and automated alignment come first — Dr_Singularity · 2026-09-08
OpenAI Chief Scientist: Models Could Get Much Better at Math, but RSI and Alignment Come First — Dr_Singularity · 2026-09-08