Terry Tao Says AI Math Proofs Merely Cite Obscure References
Alex Lupsasca · 🔬How GPT‑5 derived new results in theoretical physics and quantum gravity — Alex Lupsasca, OpenAI · May 5, 2026 · at 1:09:35
Alex Lupsasca recounts a conversation with mathematician Terry Tao regarding whether frontier AI reasoning models exhibit true mathematical creativity.
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“I talked to Terry Tao a couple of weeks ago at UCLA. We had an OpenAI event with IPAM, which is this Institute of Mathematics there. And I talked to Terry Tao and he said that in his view, all of the proofs that he's seen AI come up with in math, even the ones that have first seen creative and surprising later on were tracked down and found to have really pulled facts out of some obscure reference.”
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