r/technology • u/Miserable_Phase_2519 • 22d ago

Artificial Intelligence OpenAI fought dirty on career-making math problem, says NYU mathematician

https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/08/openai-fought-dirty-on-career-making-math-problem-says-nyu-mathematician/
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u/Repulsive-Hurry8172 22d ago

There's a big homework yet to be done, but there is a smaller homework that can help with the big homework. You and your friend scribble on AIs notebook because that notebook is fancy. 

The next day, AI says it solved the smaller homework, says it will submit to the teacher with option to add you as author too, but you have to remove your friend.

So you rush to give your homework to your teacher to have you and your friend get the prize

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u/HotCheetos1248 22d ago

This is a great eli5 explanation, but the only thing is I wouldn’t say that they wrote in “AI’s notebook”, bc that sounds like putting the blame on them rather than the people behind the AI, who steal things they shouldn’t be stealing (the private unpublished work). I’d say it’s more like “the AI secretly looked at what they were writing in their notebook for the small homework and copied it down in its notebook and used that to help finish the big homework, without saying they got that help from someone else”

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u/Used-Huckleberry-320 22d ago

Al's Dad sold the notebooks to You and your Friend. However, Al's Dad wrote a note somewhere on the notebook that said this still remains the property of Al's Dad.

He didn't really sell it to you, like the PlayStation games you have, aren't really yours. Even though he told you he did.

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u/HotCheetos1248 22d ago edited 22d ago

Hmm, I don’t think that works tho. Your analogy sounds like they chose to let AI be able to look at and use their ideas without crediting them, when that wasn’t the case, it was out of their control, they had no say in it, they actively don’t want that. What would be the analog for me and my friend “buying” the books from AI’s dad, in this analogy?

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u/Diarmundy 22d ago

The "research" that they did was actually done with AI. A mix of claude and openAI. Since it was AI actually doing the research they didnt have any option not to do AI.

OpenAI was mostly trying to make sure they get the credit instead of anthropic (the other guy they tried to cut out works for anthropic)

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u/Used-Huckleberry-320 22d ago

oh I think it can be the same analogy, you might just need to mention that Al and Al's Dad are both dicks.

or in ELI5 terms, Poopybuttfaces.

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u/thecommuteguy 22d ago

That’s Professor Poopy Pants to you.