Nyu mathematician accuses OpenAI of unethical tactics in solving major math problem

NYU mathematics professor Tristan Buckmaster alleges that OpenAI engaged in unethical practices while attempting to solve a major unsolved math problem. Buckmaster, along with Anthropic mathematician Levent Alpöge, developed three proofs, including progress on the Navier–Stokes existence and smoothness problem, one of the seven Millennium Prize problems. OpenAI later published a full proof of the same problem, claiming it was discovered by a next-generation model. Buckmaster claims that information about his team’s progress was shared with OpenAI, which then used its computational resources to reach a formal proof. OpenAI’s post confirms that their effort began on September 1, inspired by rumors of solutions to two Millennium Prize problems. Buckmaster also raised concerns that OpenAI could have used data from his work, as he extensively used Codex in his research. OpenAI denied accessing specific user data but acknowledged the possibility of de-identified data influencing their models. Buckmaster insists that the best course of action is to make the research public to ensure transparency.