OpenAI reports a counterexample to Kurosh’s division-ring problem

A countable characteristic-zero division ring is algebraic over its center, generated by two elements as an algebra over that center, and infinite-dimensional over the center.

Sources for this record

What was already known

Golod-type algebraic infinite-dimensional algebras had nilpotents and did not answer the division-ring question. Positive results applied when algebraic degrees were uniformly bounded or polynomial identities were present.

AI involvement AI-led

OpenAI credits itself as manuscript author and states that its internal frontier model produced the results in this release. Individual human input is not detailed enough to establish task-only autonomy.

OpenAI is named as author on the manuscript, and its release attributes the results to an internal frontier model. The individual human input is not detailed enough to establish autonomy.

Importance Major

Gives a negative answer to the Kurosh problem for division rings.

Limitations

The selected construction is countable and characteristic zero; its algebraic degrees are not uniformly bounded. No completed proof check was documented in the available sources.

Technical verification Reported

Reported is the default when evidence for a higher level is insufficient. The OpenAI-authored manuscript reports and argues the result, but the reviewed sources do not document a completed check of the full assessed claim.

Human understanding Few

Few is the default when evidence for a higher level is insufficient. No named person is documented as explaining the central argument for this assessed contribution.

Correction and publication history

2026-10-18 · publication

Primary manuscript, attribution, and prior-work review for non-notifying local inclusion; technical check remains undocumented.

Read this published revision