Overview
- OpenAI released a 166-page human-readable proof plus a machine-checkable formalization that claims the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations can develop finite-time singularities when a specific term takes a special form.
- Mathematicians are actively verifying the formal proof by checking the formalization and the underlying arguments to determine whether the result is correct and complete.
- The Clay Mathematics Institute has said it will withhold any Millennium Prize payment pending full human verification, a process that could take up to two years.
- Prominent researchers including Tristan Buckmaster and Andreas Thom say their private ChatGPT interactions or unpublished work may have influenced the model, and OpenAI has said it cannot completely rule out that user prompts entered the training data.
- The episode raises sharp questions about attribution, privacy and model practices because reporters say OpenAI used large numbers of AI agents in the project and the outcome could change how scientific credit, data use and auditing are handled in research.