An AI-generated image of a human head wearing a graduation cap with brain-shaped circuitry insideJOONGANG ILBO
A 300-year-old mathematical conjecture may have met an unlikely challenger: a Korean ninth grader who claims to have disproved it with the help of AI.
The paper, titled “The rhombicosidodecahedron is not Rupert,” was posted on the research repository Zenodo and developer platform GitHub on Oct. 5, according to the platforms on Tuesday. Its author is Jung Gi-hyo, a ninth grader at Gimpohangaram Middle School in Gyeonggi.
“I wrote the paper by using Claude to generate code for solving a difficult mathematical problem and then reviewing the results,” Jung told the JoongAng Ilbo in an interview.
Jung said he chose the research topic and set the direction of his work independently — without guidance from a professor or other advisers. The calculations required for the proof reportedly took about 38 hours on his laptop. A Reddit post in which Jung shared his paper also topped the popular posts on a Claude coding forum on Saturday.
The mathematical problem Jung claims to have solved involves proving a counterexample to the Rupert property, which proposes that any convex polyhedron can pass through a hole in an identical copy of itself.
Jung says he used AI to prove that a rhombicosidodecahedron — a geometric solid made up of 20 equilateral triangles, 30 squares and 12 regular pentagons — cannot allow an identical copy of itself to pass through it.
The claim that a ninth grader had used AI to tackle a complex mathematical proof drew sharply divided reactions.
Some marveled that a middle school student with no higher education could tackle research in such a specialized field. Others questioned whether “the author even understands what they wrote.”
“I am not at a level where I can independently verify every detail of the paper,” Jung said. “But another paper reached the same conclusion around the same time through a different approach, so I believe the conclusion itself is unlikely to be wrong.”
An image released by Jung Gi-hyo, a 15-year-old who claims to have solved a mathematical problem involving a solid that cannot pass through an identical copy of itself without the original splitting into two separate partsJUNG GI-HYO
For the paper to be recognized as a legitimate academic contribution, it must first undergo rigorous scrutiny, including peer review.
“Posting a paper on a research repository establishes a public record of when it was released, but it does not guarantee the validity of its contents,” said Oum Sang-il, chief investigator of the Discrete Mathematics Group at the Institute for Basic Science.
Another professor stressed that academic work must rest on the author's own understanding.
“The author of a paper must understand every aspect of the work and be able to answer questions from others,” said Seo In-suk, a professor in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Seoul National University. “Even when AI is used in research, the author must personally understand and strengthen the arguments for the work to be recognized as a complete academic achievement.”
The controversy also comes amid a broader reassessment of how AI is reshaping traditional research methods and the role of mathematicians.
OpenAI recently announced that it had developed a solution to the Navier-Stokes existence and smoothness problem, one of the seven “Millennium Problems.”
The announcement has drawn attention to how the mathematics community should assess the respective contributions of AI and human researchers.
“Jung's paper raises an interesting question about whether academic training and scholarly merit should be judged separately,” said Choi Kyu-dong, a professor of mathematical sciences at Ulsan National Institute of Science & Technology. “The question now is how such changes will affect the way mathematicians conduct research.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
