‘I’m Really Terrified’: A Mathematician Grapples With AI’s Recent Breakthroughs
Isabella WardScienceSep 12, 2026 6:00 AM‘I’m Really Terrified’: A Mathematician Grapples With AI’s Recent BreakthroughsSteven Strogatz coauthored a book about how math is moving beyond human understanding. The solution—which still needs to be independently verified—builds on a strategy developed by Spanish mathematicians Diego Córdoba and Luis Martínez-Zoroa. The announcement was marred by claims from another mathematician, Tristan Buckmaster, who says that OpenAI rushed ahead to solve the problem after learning of his work alongside Anthropic researcher Levent Alpöge.
- ▪Isabella WardScienceSep 12, 2026 6:00 AM‘I’m Really Terrified’: A Mathematician Grapples With AI’s Recent BreakthroughsSteven Strogatz coauthored a book about how math is moving beyond human understanding.
- ▪The solution—which still needs to be independently verified—builds on a strategy developed by Spanish mathematicians Diego Córdoba and Luis Martínez-Zoroa.
- ▪The announcement was marred by claims from another mathematician, Tristan Buckmaster, who says that OpenAI rushed ahead to solve the problem after learning of his work alongside Anthropic researcher Levent Alpöge.
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Isabella WardScienceSep 12, 2026 6:00 AM‘I’m Really Terrified’: A Mathematician Grapples With AI’s Recent BreakthroughsSteven Strogatz coauthored a book about how math is moving beyond human understanding. He spoke with WIRED about the seismic impact artificial intelligence has had on his life’s work.Photo-Illustration: Wired Staff; Getty ImagesCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyMathematician and author Steven Strogatz starts to cry when he talks about the artificial-intelligence-driven breakthroughs in his field over the past week.“The science is thrilling,” the Cornell University professor says, “but there's a lot of human unpleasantness going with it.”On Tuesday, OpenAI said it had used tens of thousands of agents to solve a 90-year-old math…
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