OpenAI’s announcement is the latest in a series of claimed scientific breakthroughs attributed to AI.
OpenAI announced that its AI models have enabled several scientific discoveries in mathematics, computer science and physics.
The AI giant said on Monday that the three new discoveries relate to the fields of harmonic analysis, complexity theory and quantum field theory.
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Among the findings, AI models proved for the first time the local smoothing conjecture, one of the central propositions of harmonic analysis, in each spatial dimension, according to OpenAI.
Researchers in harmonic analysis, a branch of mathematics that studies how complex signals and functions can be broken down into elementary waves, had previously proven this theory only in three dimensions.
“Historical development”
Alex Iosevich, a mathematics professor at the University of Rochester who specializes in harmonic analysis, said OpenAI appeared to have “deciphered” the conjecture as part of a “historical development.”
“The conjecture was made by my thesis advisor, Chris Sogge, so it is close to my heart, and the news was a shock at first,” Iosevich told Al Jazeera.
“Now I am filled with joy and optimism, because the scientific enterprise as a whole is going to take giant steps forward thanks to the AI revolution, and we are fortunate to be part of this historic development.”
Iosevich said he expected the field of theoretical mathematics to “change dramatically” thanks to AI.
“As a result, I feel a pang in my heart,” Iosevich said.
“Many theoretical mathematicians I know feel the same way, but I firmly believe that these feelings will soon give way to the realization that we can now accomplish so much. »
“Problems in pure mathematics did not appear out of nowhere,” he added. “Many of them arose from concrete physical considerations, and these connections can now be explored quickly and decisively.”
According to OpenAI’s announcement, its models also disproved the exponential time hypothesis, which concerns the time it takes to solve complex computing problems, and provided “mathematically rigorous (proof of the) existence” of quantum chromodynamics, which studies the interaction of quarks and gluons.
The creator of ChatGPT said it reached out to scientists outside the company to turn its “raw research data into scientific understanding.”
The San Francisco-based company said it chose several different methods to publish the results, based on consultations with three groups of experts chosen to act as “shepherds.”
While the groups collaborating on math and computer science problems opted to make the AI-produced data public immediately, the physics group decided to delay publication in order to write its own interpretation of the results, OpenAI said.
“All of these approaches involve tradeoffs,” OpenAI said.
“On the one hand, collaborations allow experts to foster the presentation of results and contextualize them in the broader academic community,” the $852 billion startup said.
“On the other hand, the choice of initial shepherds necessarily determines who will get involved first and creates an information asymmetry. We welcome comments on how to broaden participation and make this process more useful.”
OpenAI’s announcement is the latest in a series of claimed scientific breakthroughs attributed to AI.
Last month, Claude’s creator, Anthropic, announced the discovery of a new enzyme that would resemble CRISPR, the revolutionary gene-editing mechanism used in the treatment of diseases such as cancer and sickle cell disease.
Anthropic’s announcement sparked mixed reactions among scientists.
While some researchers hailed the discovery as an exciting development, others suggested the AI company had exaggerated its importance.
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