Science & Tech · AI · 4 hrs ago
AI system helps solve a major quantum computing conjecture
An AI-assisted team solved the Aaronson-Ambainis conjecture, an 18-year-old open problem in quantum computing.
The work was done by David Turturean, a staff member at the startup Physical Superintelligence, using early access to Anthropic’s Fable 5.2 model.
The conjecture asks when quantum computers can solve problems faster than classical computers.
Scott Aaronson, who helped pose it, said he believes the proof is correct because it was checked in Lean and explained by researchers, though he said he does not fully understand it.
The result closes one possible route to quantum speedups, but it does not rule out all ways quantum computers might solve difficult problems faster.
The finding also shows how AI may help with research, especially in fields where results can be expressed and checked as code.
Physical Superintelligence now earns revenue by optimizing data centers, while it aims to turn theoretical physics discoveries into technologies; the company says testing AI-generated ideas against experiments remains a challenge.
A team at startup Physical Superintelligence says it has solved the Aaronson-Ambainis conjecture, an open problem in quantum computing.
David Turturean used early access to Anthropic’s Fable 5.2 model to work on the 18-year-old problem.
The conjecture concerns whether quantum computers can solve certain problems faster than classical computers.
Scott Aaronson, one of the researchers who posed the conjecture, said he believes the proof is correct, citing its formalization in Lean and review by researchers.
The result rules out one possible route to speedups for some difficult problems, but it does not rule out all possible quantum-computing speedups.
- Who
- David Turturean of Physical Superintelligence used Anthropic’s Fable 5.2. Scott Aaronson is one of the researchers who posed the conjecture.
- What
- The team says it has solved the Aaronson-Ambainis conjecture, an open problem in quantum complexity.
- When
- TechCrunch reported the news on November 10, 2026. The conjecture was described as 18 years old.
- Where
- Physical Superintelligence is a startup lab; its location is not stated.
- Why
- The conjecture concerns when quantum computers can solve problems faster than classical computers.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Aaronson-Ambainis conjecture was posed.
David Turturean used early access to Anthropic’s Fable 5.2 to work on the conjecture.
PSI shared the solution with a team of top researchers, and it was formalized in Lean.
TechCrunch reported on the claimed solution and its implications.
- Researcher
- David Turturean
- AI model
- Anthropic’s Fable 5.2
- Startup lab
- Physical Superintelligence (PSI)
- Conjecture
- Aaronson-Ambainis
- Age of problem
- 18 years
- Formalization tool
- Lean
3 sources
What people are saying
It’s a negative result that allows people to know, okay, we’re no longer looking there
A proof of full [Aaronson-Ambainis conjecture] was one of the last remaining open problems in quantum query complexity that everyone seemed to agree was centrally important
An effective kind of research system should have lots of things related to harnesses, lots related to tools, memory systems, simulation infrastructure
Posts on X
Excited to see that the Aaronson-Ambainis conjecture has apparently been proved! But depressed to see the amount of completely incorrect commentary on its implications, so here's an attempt to clear things up.