AI had already helped solve other math problems, including other Erdos problems, but many mathematicians considered this the most significant example yet. Just one week later, human researchers adapted the core proof technique and used it to disprove another major conjecture.
Since then, the floodgates have been open, and barely a day goes by without more news about AI in mathematics. Models are finding counterexamples, spotting broader patterns, and helping researchers turn arguments into machine-checkable proofs.
Epoch AI, the research group best known for its demanding "FrontierMath" AI benchmark, recently announced the second solution in "FrontierMath: Open Problems," a test drawn from major unsolved questions in math. OpenAI's new Astra model also appears designed for this work: The lab introduced it with ten solutions of varying difficulty.
Some mathematicians see a tool, not a threat
Abhishek Saha, a math professor at Queen Mary University of London, writes on X, "At the moment, in my area of research mathematics, frontier AI models are at least as good as a solid and indefatigable PhD student."
