AI cracks a 27-year-old pillar of computer science, OpenAI and Anthropic claim
OpenAI and Anthropic say their models have produced an apparent refutation of the exponential time hypothesis, a theoretical computer science pillar proposed in 1999, with the proofs formally checked in Lean but not yet fully confirmed by humans. Science reports that Anthropic counted more than 800 papers that assume the hypothesis, though its practical impact is limited for now. It matters because it shakes a long-standing theoretical foundation and shows frontier AI systems reaching a contested frontier of mathematics, even as verification remains incomplete.
SOURCES
- Hacker News (AI)2026-11-03 17:43