Research
AI Solving Theoretical Science Problems
WIRED AIhigh confidence
Why it matters
- →AI is demonstrating novel reasoning capabilities in complex theoretical domains beyond just coding or math.
- →The rapid improvement from 2% to 35% success rates suggests a near-term disruption in scientific theory generation.
- →Human verification becomes critical as models solve problems they were not explicitly trained on.
A new study by MIT’s Neil Thompson and colleagues indicates that frontier AI models have significantly improved at solving theoretical problems in fields like quantum physics, cosmology, and economics. Testing models such as GPT-5.5 against research papers published after their training cutoffs, the team found success rates rose from 2% to 35% over a two-year period. The methodology blocked internet access to ensure solutions were derived internally, ruling out simple data retrieval. This trend parallels recent controversies in mathematics where AI solved longstanding problems, suggesting a broader transformation in how theoretical science is conducted.
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Earlier coverage that leads up to this article, and what followed. Lines connect each piece to the closest one after it, converging here.
How we got here
- 1AI's Growing Role in Physical and Science Sectors
Sifted · August 5, 2026 · Related
- 2AI Achieves Mathematical Breakthroughs
AI Explained · August 6, 2026 · Related
- 3AI Agents Could Transform Scientific Research
MIT Technology Review AI · August 10, 2026 · Related
- 4AI Solves Long-Standing Math Problems
The Verge AI · August 11, 2026 · Related
- 5AI Sparks Existential Crisis in Mathematics
The Verge AI · August 20, 2026 · Related
- 6AI Models Struggle with Classic Intelligence Tests
MIT Technology Review AI · August 26, 2026 · Related
- 7OpenAI Claims AI Solved Major Math Problem
WIRED AI · September 8, 2026 · Related
- 8OpenAI claims AI agents solved Navier-Stokes
Wes Roth · September 9, 2026 · Related
What happened next
- 9AI agents invent play when left alone
TechCrunch AI · October 23, 2026 · Background
- 10OpenAI AI disproves Exponential Time Hypothesis
Wes Roth · October 27, 2026 · Related
- 11LLMs fail to reliably judge research novelty
Hugging Face Blog · October 27, 2026 · Background
- 12AI Agents Struggle in Fantasy Soccer Despite Multi-Agent Setup
WIRED AI · October 28, 2026 · Background
- 13Project ProtoStar launches to make public science AI-ready
Hugging Face Blog · October 29, 2026 · Background
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