--- title: "Sam Altman to Infuriated Mathematicians: The Math Slop Won’t Stop" description: "OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged the disruption AI was causing to mathematics buts said the work must continue." date: "2026-10-31" modified: "2026-10-31" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore.md" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/sam-altman-mathematicians-math-slop" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "OpenAI" --- # Sam Altman to Infuriated Mathematicians: The Math Slop Won’t Stop ![OpenAI CEO Sam Altman delivers the keynote address during the OpenAI developers conference.]() *Heather Diehl/Getty Images* OpenAI Sam Altman says sorry, mathematicians: the onslaught of AI math slop will continue. The ChatGPT maker sparked an existential crisis in the field by [releasing hundreds of AI-generated solutions to math problems]() that haven't been solved by humans, and sparked further controversy over how it chose to release its solutions and communicate with mathematicians. But this doesn't seem to bother Altman all that much. In an [interview]() on the Cheeky Pint podcast on Thursday, he acknowledged the disruption that OpenAI was causing to mathematicians, but said that the work must continue — for the good of humankind, he argued. "I think, on net, the world deserves to understand how the universe works," Altman said the podcast appearance, [as spotted by *The Verge*](). "But I do have empathy for the method." According to the outlet's reporting, it's the first time that Altman has directly acknowledged his company's impact on mathematicians. OpenAI's explosive foray into math started when it claimed to have [found a solution to the famous Navier-Stokes problem]() by using 10,000 AI agents that worked 88 hours straight. A mathematician accused OpenAI of unfairly piggy backing off his unreleased research and threatening to ruin his career when he said he told them he would go public with his accusations. Prominent names in the field, meanwhile, began to worry about the potential new paradigm that OpenAI had potentially introduced: wealthy AI companies could now jump on someone else's ongoing research and beat them to the finish line by throwing ungodly amounts of AI computing power at the problem, and then take credit for it; OpenAI had spent around $10 million just to come up with its Navier-Stokes solution. But that was just the beginning. Soon, it [released hundreds of more AI-generated mathematical proofs](), a move that was [blasted by top mathematicians]() and even a math advisory group that OpenAI had been consulting with. Critics note how none of the papers have been vetted or reviewed, not least of all because the natural language proofs [are borderline incomprehensible](). It will take years for mathematicians to unpack all the AI-generated proofs OpenAI has dumped on their laps, while OpenAI, in the here and now, gets to use them as purported proof of their technology being revolutionary. On the podcast, Altman admitted that "we did let it get it out of control for one week on math," but justified the endeavor because of the importance of what they were finding. "I feel unequivocal on this point: Humanity deserves fundamental knowledge, and we should not be sitting on a major fundamental science discovery," he said. "The world deserves that." **More on AI:** [*Pope Leo Comes Out Swinging Against AI Personhood*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() ## More - [Mathematicians Can’t Make Sense of How OpenAI’s Agents Solved One of the Toughest Math Problems Because the AI’s “Proof” Is Borderline Incomprehensible]() - [Mathematicians React With Fury as OpenAI Releases Hundreds of New AI-Generated Proofs]() - [OpenAI’s Supposed Mathematical Breakthrough Devolves Into Explosive Drama as Mathematician Accuses It of Stealing His Work]() - [Mathematicians Claim Significant Discovery Using ChatGPT]() - [Sam Altman Shuts Down Q\* Questions]() - [Mathematician: Everything We Know About Math Could Be Wrong]() - [Sam Altman Announces That the Singularity Has Arrived]() - [Journalists Just Roasted Sam Altman To His Face]()