Reversible Computing Expert Runs GPT-5.6 Sol for 33 Hours to Explore New Proof of Fermat's Last Theorem; Task
Reversible computing expert Michael P. Frank assigned GPT-5.6 Sol a high-difficulty research goal: to explore a more concise proof of Fermat's Last Theorem than the Wiles-Taylor proof, focusing on the Frey curve, infinite descent, and other approaches. After 33 hours of background computation, OpenAI forcibly terminated the task. The model reported that it converted plausible shortcuts into verifiable statements, then systematically falsified them, producing a roadmap of dead ends rather than a proof.
Michael P. Frank set a high-difficulty research goal for GPT-5.6 Sol: to explore whether Fermat's Last Theorem admits a more concise proof than the Wiles-Taylor proof, focusing on the modularity of the Frey curve, the method of consistent infinite descent, the arithmetic abc-type inequality, and the consistent low-genus quotient. The task ran in the background for approximately 33 hours before being forcibly terminated by the OpenAI system. The model also reported that its core work during the 33 hours was to convert many 'sounding feasible' shortcuts into verifiable precise statements, then falsify or eliminate them one by one. The final output was a map of 'dead ends,' not the proof itself.
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