NYU’s Tristan Buckmaster on the controversy over OpenAI’s math findings

Summary
In an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, NYU mathematics professor Tristan Buckmaster discusses allegations that OpenAI front-ran and copied his research on the Navier–Stokes and Euler equations. Buckmaster describes using OpenAI’s Codex while collaborating with Anthropic researcher Levent Alpoge, alleging OpenAI accessed his prompts, attempted to sideline Alpoge, and deployed agent swarms to replicate their exact mathematical methods.

What is shown

• CNBC anchors Becky Quick, Andrew Ross Sorkin, and Joe Kernen interview Tristan Buckmaster in studio [00:00].
• On-screen graphic detailing the Navier–Stokes Problem and the $1 million Millennium Prize [00:49].
• CNBC article headline from September 9, 2026: “OpenAI claims to have solved the 90-year-old Navier-Stokes math problem in 88 hours” by Katrina Bishop [02:20].
• Formal statement from OpenAI spokesperson Laurance Fauconnet categorically denying that Buckmaster’s Codex prompts influenced their systems or training over the prior two months [08:21].
• The New York Times headline from October 6, 2026: “OpenAI Releases Findings on 377 Math Problems, Further Roiling Field” by Kenneth Chang and Siobhan Roberts [13:10].

Claims & numbers

• Millennium Prize: Becky Quick states each Millennium Prize Problem solution carries a $1 million reward [00:16].
• Timeline: Buckmaster states that at the end of August 2026, he and Levent Alpoge were roughly one month away from solving their target equation problem [02:17].
• Anthropic leak: Buckmaster says a leak suggested Anthropic was close to resolving two Millennium Prize problems: Navier–Stokes and the Hodge conjecture [02:40].
• OpenAI compute & agents: Buckmaster claims OpenAI initially spent millions of dollars on compute and ran 10,000 agents, but after learning his identity on the 3rd, replicated his exact arguments within a single day using 100 agents [03:01, 09:25, 09:34].
• Account data privacy: Buckmaster states he had a paid personal OpenAI account using Codex; while two accounts had data training disabled, one account had the default setting on [06:33, 07:01].
• OpenAI denial: OpenAI spokesperson Laurance Fauconnet stated: “We can say categorically that it is impossible for Dr. Buckmaster’s Codex prompts over the last two months to have influenced the system in any way, including training” [08:21].
• OpenAI paper dump: Buckmaster notes OpenAI released findings on 377 math problems on Tuesday (October 6, 2026), claiming this roiled the academic mathematics field [12:56, 13:10].

Notable quotes

• “The velocity goes to infinity... So the physics breaks... the equations don’t make sense anymore.” — Tristan Buckmaster [01:32]
• “They offered us millions of tokens to complete the project... they said, ‘Let’s not compete.’” — Tristan Buckmaster [04:04]
• “After they knew my name, they suddenly started from where we left off.” — Tristan Buckmaster [09:53]

Assessment
This is a live broadcast news interview presenting allegations from an academic researcher alongside on-screen statements from OpenAI. Buckmaster provides personal testimony and circumstantial timelines regarding prompt leakage and negotiations with OpenAI, while OpenAI categorically denies having used his prompt data.

Described by gemini-3.8-flash on 2026-10-08 from the video’s audio and frames.