# AI's brute force threatens math's creative soul > OpenAI solved a decades-old puzzle using thousands of agents, but mathematicians worry the speed of AI proofs could destroy the understanding that drives discovery. - Title: AI's brute force threatens math's creative soul · WIRED - Summary: OpenAI solved a decades-old puzzle using thousands of agents, but mathematicians worry the speed of AI proofs could destroy the understanding that drives… - Keywords: openai, artificial intelligence, mathematics, navier-stokes, mathematical proof, creative process, academic research, peer review, mathematical culture, AI's, brute, force - Source: WIRED — https://wired.com/story/solving-maths-greatest-problems-was-an-art-form-until-ai - Author: Sophia Chen - Published: 2026-09-28T09:30:00+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: openai, artificial intelligence, mathematics, navier-stokes, mathematical proof, creative process, academic research, peer review, mathematical culture ## OpenAI solves decades-old math puzzle OpenAI said it used thousands of agents to solve the Navier-Stokes existence and smoothness problem, a puzzle that has intrigued mathematicians for decades. ## Math has always been an art form Mathematicians typically follow a thoughtful, deliberate process to develop ideas, resembling artistic exploration akin to inventing a game or puzzle, not racing for quick answers. ## Hardy saw math as pattern-making English mathematician G. H. Hardy wrote in his nineteen forty essay A Mathematician's Apology that a mathematician, like a painter or poet, is a maker of patterns. > A mathematician, like a painter or poet, is a maker of patterns ## Navier-Stokes equations describe fluid flow Nineteenth-century scientists developed the Navier-Stokes equations to describe the flow of viscous fluids. Engineers use them to model airflow for airplane design. ## Mathematicians loved the puzzle itself Mathematicians became enamored with the Navier-Stokes equations themselves, not their applications. They pursued answers because of the mathematical richness and puzzle aspect of it. ## The puzzle had no practical purpose The puzzle's solution will not help anybody design a more aerodynamic airplane wing. Mathematicians imagined how the equations would apply in unrealistic, almost science-fiction contexts. ## AI used brute force, not understanding OpenAI approached the proof with brute force, which shortcut the process in a way that threatens to undermine human understanding of the mathematics involved. ## The proof lacks transparency and clarity The one hundred sixty-six-page proof remains under peer review. Mathematicians have criticized OpenAI's lack of transparency in how it arrived at the solution and possible improper attribution. ## Nobody understands what happened Jared Speck, a mathematician at Vanderbilt University, says basically nobody in the mathematics community really understands what is going on with the AI proof. > basically nobody in my community really understands what's going on ## Mathematicians fear loss of understanding Juspreet Singh Sandhu signed a declaration titled A Severe Misalignment of AI in Mathematics, warning that mass-producing proofs could destroy fertile ground instead of breathing life into new ideas. ## Twenty-five Fields Medal winners signed on The declaration's initial signatories were twenty-five winners of the Fields Medal, often called the Nobel Prize in mathematics, expressing concern about AI's impact on mathematical culture. ## Struggle drives mathematical breakthroughs Lorenzo Gavassino, a theoretical physicist at the University of Cambridge, says when a calculation becomes discouraging, that is when the greatest progress is possible. Struggle inspires new concepts. > When a calculation turns out to be harder than expected, to the point of it being discouraging, that is when the greatest progress is possible ## Imaginary numbers came from struggle Mathematicians invented the imaginary number i in the sixteenth century after generations of trying to solve cubic equations. This gave birth to complex analysis, later used in quantum mechanics. ## AI threatens the apprenticeship model The mathematics community has long relied on a teacher-apprentice structure to discover new ideas sustainably. AI threatens to scoop younger researchers and deprive students of training opportunities. ## AI companies built on mathematical foundations The study of differential equations and complex analysis enabled the invention of lasers for etching computer chips. Neural networks use linear algebra, a field at least as old as the seventeenth century. ## Companies may trample their creators Now that AI models are fed with generations of human insight and trillion-dollar valuations must be sought, companies may very well trample the mathematics community that created their product. ## Key takeaway OpenAI used AI agents to solve the Navier-Stokes problem, but mathematicians fear brute-force computation threatens the creative process that has driven mathematical progress for centuries.