AI Solves 90-Year-Old Math Problem That Stumped Scientists

After ninety years of effort by mathematicians worldwide, OpenAI claims its AI model has solved the Navier-Stokes problem, one of the biggest unsolved questions in mathematics. The model reportedly found the solution in just 88 hours.

The Navier-Stokes equations describe how air flows around an airplane and how water, air, and other fluids and gases move. Mathematicians have used complex calculations for decades to predict airflow, weather patterns, and wind turbine design, but they could not prove whether those calculations work in all situations. OpenAI's model demonstrated situations where they break down, describing a vortex spiraling inward and stretching endlessly until it forms a singularity where the calculation produces no normal finite value.

Mathematician Menno Lagerwey calls this "math at Champions League level" and notes it is one of seven Millennium Problems designated by the Clay Mathematics Institute in 2000, each carrying a $1 million reward. Only one had been solved before this claim.

The scientific community has not yet accepted the proof, which must be verified by human experts. OpenAI used about 10,000 AI agents working simultaneously on different parts of the problem, with the final proof computer-checked. The development sparks debate about AI's role in mathematics, with concerns that outsourcing mathematical thinking may make us collectively weaker at the skill.