OpenAI Sam Altman apologizes, mathematicians: the onslaught of AI math slops will continue.
The creator of ChatGPT sparked an existential crisis in the field by publishing hundreds of AI-generated solutions to mathematical problems that have not been solved by humans, and sparked new controversy over how he chose to publish his solutions and communicate with mathematicians.
But that doesn’t seem to bother Altman too much. In an interview on the Cheeky Pint podcast on Thursday, he acknowledged the disruption OpenAI was causing to mathematicians, but said the work must continue – for the sake of humanity, he argued.
“I think on the Internet, the world deserves to understand how the universe works,” Altman said during the podcast’s appearance, spotted by The edge. “But I have empathy for the method.”
According to the media’s information, this is the first time that Altman has directly acknowledged the impact of his company on mathematicians.
OpenAI’s explosive foray into mathematics began when it claimed to have found a solution to the famous Navier-Stokes problem using 10,000 AI agents who worked for 88 hours straight. A mathematician has accused OpenAI of unfairly giving up his groundbreaking research and threatening to ruin his career when he said he told them he would go public with his accusations.
In the meantime, prominent names in the field began to worry about the potential new paradigm that OpenAI had potentially introduced: wealthy AI companies could now piggyback on someone else’s ongoing research and beat them to the finish line by pumping ungodly amounts of AI computing power at the problem, then taking credit for it; OpenAI had spent around $10 million just to come up with its Navier-Stokes solution.
But that was only the beginning. Soon, it released hundreds of additional AI-generated mathematical proofs, a move that was criticized by top mathematicians and even a mathematics advisory group consulted by OpenAI. Critics note that none of the articles have been vetted or scrutinized, particularly because the natural language evidence borders on incomprehensible. It will take years for mathematicians to unpack all the AI-generated proofs that OpenAI has dumped in their laps, while OpenAI, here and now, can use them as purported proof of the revolutionary nature of their technology.
On the podcast, Altman admitted that “we let it get out of control for a week in math,” but justified the effort because of the importance of what they were finding.
“I am unequivocal on this point: humanity deserves fundamental knowledge, and we should not settle for one major fundamental scientific discovery,” he said. “The world deserves this.”
Learn more about AI: Pope Leo opposes AI personality
Gn bussni
