Claude AI Produces First Computer-Verified Proof of Fermat's Last Theorem in 11 Days
Anthropic's Claude AI wrote a 13-million-line formal proof verifying Fermat's Last Theorem in 11 days, surpassing a human-led effort that's been running since 2024.
Why it matters
This event is primarily a research milestone in AI-driven theorem proving rather than a direct market or regulatory development. Its significance for the crypto sector is limited, though it may raise broader awareness of Anthropic's AI capabilities.
Key facts
The proof contains 13 million lines of code, making it the longest math proof ever built.
13,000,000 linesReported by Decrypt
A human-led project at Imperial College London has been attempting the same task since 2024 and is not yet finished.
Reported by Decrypt
Kevin Buzzard, the mathematician leading the Imperial project, reviewed Claude's proof and confirmed it holds up.
Reported by Decrypt
Fermat's Last Theorem states that no three positive whole numbers can satisfy a^n + b^n = c^n for n greater than 2.
Reported by Decrypt
The proof uses only basic logical rules (a formal proof verified by computer).
Reported by Decrypt
What happened
Decrypt reported that Anthropic's Claude AI produced the first fully computer-checked proof of Fermat's Last Theorem, a problem that had stumped mathematicians for 358 years. The proof comprises 13 million lines of code that a computer can verify line by line, making it the longest mathematical proof ever built, and Claude completed it in 11 days largely autonomously. A human-led project at Imperial College London, led by mathematician Kevin Buzzard and running since 2024, has not yet finished the same task. Buzzard reviewed Claude's proof and confirmed it holds up using only basic logical rules. Anthropic described the achievement as a milestone in formal mathematical verification.
How the story developed
- First report
First report by Decrypt
AI Just Solved a 350-Year-Old Math Problem By Writing the Longest Proof Ever
- Update
Decrypt reports Claude AI produced the first computer-checked proof of Fermat's Last Theorem
Claude wrote 13 million lines of code in 11 days, mostly autonomously, and Kevin Buzzard confirmed the proof holds up.
Affected entities
Original sources
| Publisher | Report | Role | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decrypt Crypto media | AI Just Solved a 350-Year-Old Math Problem By Writing the Longest Proof Ever | Original |
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