SMRTR Science & EngineeringMay 20, 2026Interesting Engineering

80-year-old geometry mystery cracked by OpenAI using deep number theory

SMRTR summary

OpenAI's AI solved an 80-year-old geometry puzzle called the "unit distance problem," finding point arrangements with far more one-unit pairs than previously thought possible — using advanced number theory. Fields Medal winner Tim Gowers called it "a milestone in AI mathematics," suggesting AI can now generate genuinely original mathematical ideas.

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