OpenAI claims three discoveries, one shaking computer science
Less than a month after releasing hundreds of math manuscripts, OpenAI is back with three "major" results. They are in math (the Kakeya conjecture), computer science (the Exponential Time Hypothesis) and physics (quantum chromodynamics). The announcement got 903 points on Hacker News.
The biggest claim: a paper saying the Exponential Time Hypothesis is false. This hypothesis is the idea that some hard problems cannot be solved much faster than by trying everything. Many past results rely on it being true. The paper itself got 623 points on Hacker News.
What is new is the method. OpenAI now works with outside experts it calls "shepherds", and explains how researchers can verify and build on the results. For now, these are claims. Experts need time to check them.
If confirmed, AI is becoming a real partner in science, which is exciting. But claims this big need slow, careful checking, and the speed of AI output could overwhelm the humans who must verify it.
