GPT-5's Math Claims Debunked, Sparking Tech Debate
GPT-5's Mathematical Breakthroughs Questioned by Experts
Recent assertions by OpenAI regarding GPT-5's mathematical achievements have ignited controversy across the tech and academic communities. The debate centers on whether the AI system genuinely solved complex problems or merely identified existing solutions.
The Controversial Claims
Image source note: The image is AI-generated, and the image licensing service is Midjourney
The dispute began when Kevin Weil, OpenAI's vice president, tweeted that GPT-5 had solved 10 previously unsolved Erdős problems and made progress on 11 others. These mathematical conjectures, named after renowned mathematician Paul Erdős, represent some of the most challenging problems in number theory and combinatorics.
However, Thomas Bloom, mathematician and maintainer of the Erdős problems website, quickly refuted these claims. He clarified that while these problems were listed as "open" on his site, GPT-5 hadn't actually solved them - it had simply found references containing existing solutions that Bloom himself wasn't aware of.
Industry Reactions
The incident drew sharp criticism from leading AI researchers:
- Yann LeCun, Meta's chief AI scientist, called it "self-inflicted"
- Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, described it as "embarrassing"
OpenAI researcher Sebastien Bubeck later acknowledged that GPT-5 had only located existing literature containing solutions. However, he maintained this still represented significant progress in literature search capabilities.
Broader Implications
This controversy raises important questions about:
- How AI achievements should be measured and communicated
- The distinction between finding existing knowledge versus creating new knowledge
- Ethical responsibilities in marketing AI capabilities
The mathematics community emphasizes that while locating obscure solutions demonstrates useful retrieval abilities, it shouldn't be conflated with genuine problem-solving breakthroughs.
The tech industry continues debating appropriate benchmarks for evaluating AI systems' mathematical reasoning capabilities without overstating their accomplishments.
Key Points:
- 🔍 GPT-5's math claims questioned by experts across academia and tech
- 📄 OpenAI VP asserted problem-solving feats later shown to be literature retrieval
- 🧩 Distinction between finding vs solving crucial for evaluating AI capabilities
- 🤖 Incident highlights ongoing challenges in accurately representing AI progress