Cade Metz, Can A.I. Generate New Ideas? NYTimes, Jan 14, 2026
Here's how Claude 4.5 summarized the article:
AI Tackles Mathematical Problems - But Questions Remain
An AI startup called Harmonic, using OpenAI's GPT-5 technology, recently solved a mathematical "Erdos problem" - a collection of challenging puzzles designed to test mathematical ingenuity. This sparked debate about whether AI has reached the point of conducting legitimate academic research.
Key Points:
The achievement generated mixed reactions. While some experts see it as evidence that AI can do genuine research, others, including renowned mathematician Terence Tao, argue the solution resembles "a clever student who memorized everything" rather than demonstrating true understanding. The solution was largely based on well-known methods. Initially, OpenAI claimed GPT-5 had solved 10 Erdos problems, but researchers discovered it had merely identified existing solutions buried in decades-old papers. Despite this, the technology proved valuable - it could find obscure sources humans might never locate.
Current Capabilities:
Modern AI systems use "reinforcement learning" to reason through problems, sometimes working for hours. While they can't yet generate truly novel ideas, they've become powerful research tools that can:
- Analyze and store far more information than humans
- Suggest hypotheses researchers hadn't considered
- Help scientists narrow down experiments from 50 to 5
The Verdict:
Experts agree AI is a rapidly improving research assistant, but it still requires experienced human collaborators to guide it, interpret results, and separate useful insights from noise. Whether AI can independently generate breakthrough ideas remains an open question.
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