Super new AI tech solves maths problems that have stumped brainiacs for decades
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, says its unreleased model “Astra” made 10 major mathematical breakthroughs in just a week – using less than £1,500 worth of computing power
OpenAI says some services are returning(Image: AP)
Boffins fear they’re about to become extinct after a new AI system solved maths problems that have left the world’s brightest brains baffled for decades. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, says its unreleased model “Astra” made 10 major mathematical breakthroughs in just a week – using less than £1,500 worth of computing power.
The bombshell has sparked fears that machines could soon take over one of the world’s most complex academic disciplines.
Among the discoveries were solutions to problems that had defeated mathematicians for more than 60 years, including a geometry puzzle first posed in 1964 by French mathematician Eugène Ehrhart.
French mathematician Eugene Ehrhart
Experts were left stunned by the speed of the breakthroughs.
Chris Peikert, a professor at the University of Michigan, described the results as “jaw-dropping”, while Columbia University computer science professor Henry Yuen admitted: “I’m in awe.”
Another mathematician wrote on an online forum that several of the discoveries would be “career-defining for any mathematician”.
But others were miffed by the leap as fears grew that AI could soon eclipse human researchers.
Tasmin Chu, a PhD student at the California Institute of Technology, posted: “This ruined my morning.”
Alex Gerko, a billionaire mathematician and founder of trading firm XTX Markets, predicted the technology would soon achieve “superhuman performance in all aspects of maths”.
He added: “We are going to see 50 years’ worth of maths progress in the next two years, but there won’t be nearly enough human mathematicians around to process and understand all of it.”
Billionaire mathematician Alex Gerko(Image: @AlexanderGerko/Twitter)
OpenAI said Astra is far more powerful than any system currently available to the public, although it plans to release the technology in the future.
The company insisted the breakthrough raises questions that cannot be answered by technology firms alone and called on the mathematical community to help shape the future of AI research.
The latest advance comes just months after thousands of mathematicians signed a declaration urging that the future of their subject should remain in the hands of academics rather than Silicon Valley companies.
