OpenAI claims AI solved Navier-Stokes problem, sparking credit dispute with researchers

A heated debate is unfolding in the scientific community after Tristan Buckmaster stated that OpenAI told him its AI had solved the Navier–Stokes Millennium Prize Problem. The claim remains unverified, and the ensuing discussions have escalated into a dispute over scientific credit.

Here is what happened and what we know so far.

The Facts So Far

Several distinct issues are being conflated. Here is what the available evidence actually shows:

• Building on prior work by Córdoba and Martínez-Zoroa, researchers Alpöge and Buckmaster used Claude and OpenAI models to demonstrate how initially smooth fluid flows can develop singularities under smooth external forcing.
• They published papers and Lean formalizations of their results, which were praised by mathematician Terence Tao.
• Their findings cover the Euler and related equations. They do not solve the Navier–Stokes Millennium Problem, which additionally involves viscosity.
• A suitable extension of their work could potentially resolve the Millennium Problem, even with smooth external forcing.

The Disputed Claim

According to Buckmaster, OpenAI told him on September 6 that an internal model had already produced a proof for forced Navier–Stokes — potentially taking that final step.

Buckmaster says OpenAI's effort began after the company learned of Alpöge and Buckmaster's progress. He also disputes the initial characterization of minimal human involvement, stating that the discussions revealed a team effort, multiple attempts, and substantial compute resources.

Buckmaster further alleges that publication proposals included having him write up OpenAI's result without Alpöge as a coauthor, with Alpöge's employment at Anthropic cited as an obstacle. He reports being asked, "Why would you ruin your career?" after stating he would make the circumstances public.

Contested Accounts

OpenAI researcher Sébastien Bubeck has publicly rejected allegations against him as "false and inflammatory." These accounts remain contested, and social media posts do not establish what occurred in the private discussions.

There is also no established evidence that OpenAI trained on Alpöge and Buckmaster's private Codex sessions or stole their drafts. Buckmaster raises the question but explicitly writes: "I do not know whether our data was used."

Summary

Alpöge and Buckmaster used AI to prove new results about how smooth fluid flows can develop singularities, advancing a research program relevant to the Navier–Stokes Millennium Problem. Their published work does not solve that problem. However, Buckmaster says OpenAI privately told him its internal model had taken the remaining step. He has not seen that proof, and the claim remains unverified.

Despite rumors circulating that OpenAI has fully solved the Millennium Problem, no confirmation exists.