AI makes discoveries in mathematics, computer science, physics, OpenAI says

What the report says

OpenAI said its AI models have produced what it described as new scientific discoveries spanning mathematics, computer science and physics, according to an announcement reported by Al Jazeera. The company said the findings involve harmonic analysis, complexity theory and quantum field theory, and it said it had worked with outside scientists to help interpret the results.

Among the claims, OpenAI said its models proved the local smoothing conjecture across every spatial dimension for the first time. Al Jazeera reported that the conjecture had previously been proved only in three dimensions. The company also said its systems disproved the Exponential Time Hypothesis and provided a mathematically rigorous proof of the existence of quantum chromodynamics.

The report included reaction from Alex Iosevich, a mathematics professor at the University of Rochester, who said the harmonic analysis result appeared to be a historic breakthrough. He suggested AI could significantly change theoretical mathematics, while also noting that some researchers may feel uneasy about the pace of change.

OpenAI said it shared the results with three expert groups acting as “shepherds,” and that some findings were made public immediately while the physics-related work was delayed so researchers could write their own interpretation. Al Jazeera noted that the announcement fits into a broader trend of AI companies claiming scientific advances, following similar claims from Anthropic last month.