Navier-Stokes problem solved in the blink of an AI, claims OpenAI

OpenAI said on Tuesday that one of its unreleased artificial intelligence models had solved a mathematical puzzle that has defeated humans for generations, in a claim which also drew a fight with rival researchers over credit.

Researchers at OpenAI said it took just days-and millions of dollars in computing power-to crack what is known as the Navier-Stokes problem. Navier-Stokes is one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems, a list of the hardest open questions in mathematics drawn up by the Clay Mathematics Institute. It concerns the equations describing how fluids such as air and water move, which are used in aircraft design, weather forecasting and the study of blood flow.

OpenAI said its work showed that these equations can break down over time, answering the question as set out by the Millennium Prize. "This is a significant milestone for AI research, and its promise for the world is that even more of our hardest questions would become possible to answer," Mark Chen, OpenAI's chief research officer, told reporters.


Each Millennium Prize Problem carries a $1 million reward, and only one has been solved since the list was published in 2000. OpenAI says it will not claim money if its finding is confirmed.

In a blog post describing the breakthrough, OpenAI said it began training a new model in late August, more capable than anything it has released publicly.

Days later, seeing online rumors that a competitor had solved Millennium problems, OpenAI turned the system loose on all six that remain open.

Work on Navier-Stokes showed unexpected promise, and the company poured its computing power into it.

By the final stage, OpenAI researcher Sebastien Bubeck said, 10,000 AI agents-programs that operate on their own-were working on the problem at once, passing messages.