‘Immature playground boasting’: Mathematicians uneasy at OpenAI’s latest scalp

OpenAI's latest AI model solved a Millennium Prize Problem, a puzzle carrying a $1m reward that had defied human mathematicians for decades, according to The Guardian. The company deployed 10,000 autonomous AI agents on the problem at an estimated cost of $15m, a result that left mathematicians shocked at the pace of change and prompted accusations of "immature playground boasting.

‘Immature playground boasting’: Mathematicians uneasy at OpenAI’s latest scalp By Ian Sample Science editorSource: The Guardian Technology https://www.theguardian.com/us/technology As OpenAI /glossary/openai model cracks Millennium Prize Problem that puzzled experts for decades, many feel shocked at pace of change It was a week that left mathematicians reeling. Hot on the heels of a flurry of cases https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/may/21/openai-paul-erdos-maths-problem-breakthrough of artificial intelligence /glossary/artificial-intelligence furthering the field https://deepmind.google/blog/ai-solves-imo-problems-at-silver-medal-level/ , OpenAI declared a major scalp: its latest AI model had cracked a Millennium Prize Problem, a puzzle with a $1m reward that had defied human brains for decades. The achievement bore little resemblance to how mathematical problems normally fall. A near-trillion dollar private company had unleashed 10,000 agents – AI systems that carry out tasks autonomously – on the problem. The bill was estimated at $15m. Continue reading... https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/sep/12/openai-mathematicians-millennium-prize-problem Get AI news in your inbox Daily digest of what matters in AI.