OpenAI Announces Three Science Claims, Publishes Some Proofs
OpenAI announced claimed results in math, computer science and physics; a challenge to the Exponential Time Hypothesis was released for review, but physics was not.
The story in focus
The Verge reports OpenAI announced three claimed major results in math, computer science and physics, with external expert shepherds guiding two. The computer science claim, that the Exponential Time Hypothesis is false, has model output and a Lean proof released publicly; the physics existence proof has not been released in full.
- OpenAI announced three claimed discoveries in math, computer science and physics, per The Verge.
- External experts OpenAI describes as shepherds guided the computer science and physics results.
- The computer science claim says the Exponential Time Hypothesis is false; model output and a Lean proof were published on GitHub.
- The physics result is a mathematically rigorous existence proof for certain four-dimensional quantum field theories and has not been released in full.
- An AGMAI advisory panel recommended against AI companies giving certain people first access to output.
What OpenAI claims
The Verge reports OpenAI announced three claimed major discoveries in mathematics, computer science and physics, less than a month after a release of hundreds of manuscripts it said contained solutions to long-standing math questions. OpenAI describes external experts as shepherds guiding the computer science and physics results. For the math problem, the company says advisers recommended releasing the AI output so researchers could work through their own explanations.
The released computer science claim
The central computer science claim is that the Exponential Time Hypothesis is false. According to the announcement, the paper gives a deterministic algorithm that exactly counts satisfying assignments of fixed-width CNF formulas in subexponential time and polynomial space; the 3-SAT case is said to refute the hypothesis. An independent working group of computer scientists led by Russell Impagliazzo, Ramamohan Paturi and Ryan Williams will examine and explain the proof. At the group's request, OpenAI made the materials public immediately, and the AI output writeup and Lean proof were placed on GitHub. The hypothesis remains widely believed until independent verification is complete.
Physics and disclosure
The physics result was described only as a mathematically rigorous existence proof of certain interacting quantum field theories containing gauge fields and fermions in four dimensions, including Quantum Chromodynamics and a unified completion of the Standard Model. The information has not been released in full. OpenAI says David Gross will lead a group including Michael Douglas, Arthur Jaffe, Igor Klebanov and Nikita Nekrasov to shepherd the work. The Verge notes OpenAI admits the approach could have its own issues, and that the AGMAI panel of math advisers recommended AI companies not adopt practices of designating certain people to receive output first, citing unequal access, borrowed reputation and biased selection. The panel instead recommended releasing output on scholarly repositories with Lean-formalized proofs and information on problem selection.
What has actually been released for independent review?
For the computer science claim, OpenAI released the AI output writeup and a Lean proof on GitHub at the working group's request. The full physics materials have not been released.
Sources & further reading
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