Brandon Fletcher
Mathematicians label OpenAI’s actions as “destructive,” while the company refers to them as “disruptive.”
On Thursday, Dan Roberts, the research lead at OpenAI, announced via Twitter that the company would withdraw its sponsorship from the upcoming Caltech Mathathon. This event will feature 100 teams of mathematicians competing to answer a critical question: “How can we responsibly utilize AI tools to enhance human comprehension of mathematics?”
According to Business Insider, a group of current and former mathematicians from Caltech recently published an open letter condemning AI companies for promoting a campaign of scientific misinformation regarding the true objectives of mathematical research. They argued that the rise of AI-generated “slop mathematics” represents a form of research misconduct, as it exploits the efforts of dedicated research mathematicians without genuinely advancing understanding. The letter cautioned that the Mathathon could lead to “destructive impacts for the mathematical community.”
This controversy coincided with OpenAI’s claim that it had successfully solved the Navier-Stokes Problem, a long-standing challenge in predicting fluid dynamics. Many mathematicians have contested OpenAI’s assertion, leading to a public dispute with NYU mathematician Tristan Buckmaster and Anthropic’s Levent Alpöge. They speculated whether OpenAI had appropriated their insights by utilizing their research in its training data.
This week, an additional 25 prominent mathematicians signed another open letter denouncing AI, further escalating the ongoing conflict. It is evident that OpenAI is struggling to win the support of the mathematical community, which is facing the harsh realities of advancing technology.
We acknowledge that the rapid advancement of AI in mathematics is disruptive. We aim to engage more with the mathematics community regarding the best ways to integrate this technology and communicate its effects. After listening to concerns from mathematicians, we’ve…
— Dan Roberts (@danintheory) September 10, 2026
Roberts framed the ongoing dispute in a way that aligns with OpenAI’s perspective: “We acknowledge that the rapid advancement of AI in mathematics is disruptive.” That certainly captures one side of the conversation!
Each participating team in the Mathathon will receive 40 hours and $20,000 in tokens to devise their solutions, with the first round commencing on October 30th. OpenAI and Anthropic had pledged a combined donation of $2 million in credits.
In a statement to Gizmodo, a spokesperson for the Mathathon revealed that “OpenAI specifically sponsored 10k of the 20k,” and mentioned they are “currently negotiating with other companies that are willing to contribute a similar amount per team.”
“We do not expect this to have a significant impact on the event,” the spokesperson stated.
Update: 9:11 p.m. ET on Sept. 11, 2026: This article has been updated to include a statement from the organizers of the Caltech Mathathon.
Daniel Mercer
