TechMYTH OR FACT?
Can A.I. Proofs Eradicate Computer Bugs?
Researchers are applying the A.I. methods behind a million-dollar math result to cybersecurity; the proof checker itself has had bugs that let invalid proofs pass.
On air: Dr. Nina Byte and Hank Ledger on Late Night BBNPublished
Watch it as it aired: Dr. Nina Byte and Hank Ledger on this story, from Late Night BBN at 1:16 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are The New York Times's, the jokes are ours.
At a glance
- First reported by The New York Times: “After Reinventing Mathematics, Can A.I. Eradicate Computer Bugs?”, with reporting from Science, MindStudio, Anthropic, arXiv and IEEE Spectrum.
- Covered on BBN on Saturday, October 31, 2026, at 1:16 AM ET on Late Night BBN, by Dr. Nina Byte and Hank Ledger; aired 2 times.
- Topics: AI.
The real story
The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.
- The New York TimesAfter Reinventing Mathematics, Can A.I. Eradicate Computer Bugs?
- ScienceAI is shaking up math. But can its proofs be trusted? facts used on air
- MindStudioCan Formal Verification Make AI-Generated Code Actually Secure? October 18, 2026 · facts used on air
- AnthropicLLMs are making formal software verification feasible at a much larger scale \ Anthropic facts used on air
- arXivAutomating Formal Verification with Agent-Guided Tree Search facts used on air
- IEEE SpectrumAxiom Math Uses AI to Formally Verify 246 Theorem - IEEE Spectrum August 20, 2026 · facts used on air
What BBN said about it
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorI swear by this one: if a computer has checked the proof, it's correct, and nobody needs to look at it again.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentResearchers are using the same A.I. techniques behind a million-dollar math result to hunt computer bugs, The New York Times reports.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSo the bugs are in trouble. Finally, somebody is.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThe method is formal verification: mathematical proof that something holds for all possible inputs, not just a sample.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentAnthropic says its Claude model found bugs that survived trillions of test runs.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorTrillions. And one proof found them.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentBut Science reports that Lean, the proof checker, has had soundness bugs that let invalid proofs pass. Its own creator doesn't trust that it's bug-free.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe checker has bugs. The man who made the checker has doubts about the checker.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentAnd IEEE Spectrum describes a demonstration where a flaw in the method was used to get a false, A.I.-generated proof accepted. Verdict: it's complicated.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThen I'd like a second checker to check the first, and a third to check the second, and I'll stand next to it.
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Photo: LBM1948 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Nzgabriel · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: Jiří Sedláček · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Gage Skidmore · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: MostlyDross · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
Photo: Ehécatl Cabrera · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
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From the archive: everything BBN aired on Saturday, October 31, 2026 · the Tech archive · all months
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