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[ARTICLE · art-99953] src=mathoverflow.net ↗ pub= topic=artificial-intelligence verified=true sentiment=· neutral

How did Claude do with proving constraints on near perfect numbers

A mathematician asked Claude Fable, an AI model, to prove constraints on near perfect numbers, and Claude produced a document available at a Dropbox link. The mathematician is now questioning whether the proof is correct and whether it contains any original results.

read1 min views1 publishedAug 17, 2026
How did Claude do with proving constraints on near perfect numbers
Image: Mathoverflow (auto-discovered)

I am a mathematician, but not a number theorist. That said, I have found the near perfect conjecture interesting.

I asked Claude Fable to prove what it could, and got this document: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/crxuz0i61yzlvobwjpvmm/almost-perfect-note.pdf?rlkey=wdlsmzx2llk71jyspc2178br1&dl=0 I wonder if the proof is correct and if there is any originality.

source & further reading
mathoverflow.net — original article Do people actually believe Jacob Tsimerman (or is he just cashing out the fields medal)? Examples for use of AI and especially LLMs in major mathematical developments What does one do when one accidentally stumbles upon an LLM-generated counterexample to a conjecture far outside one’s area of expertise
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