Caltech Mathathon – first hackathon ever devoted to research level mathematics
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Caltech Mathathon is first hackathon for research-level math with AI.
Caltech hosts a 40-hour hackathon from October 30 to November 1, offering $2M+ AI credits to teams tasked with solving open math problems using frontier models. Recent AI breakthroughs include disproving Erdos's planar unit-distance conjecture (open 80 years) and constructing the first explicit non-sofic group (open 27 years). Participants will defend results before mathematicians, with prizes for promising and verified work.
What commenters are saying
Commenters are split: some question whether a hackathon format fits AI-assisted math, as progress often involves long autonomous runs. Others argue that human-AI collaboration is still effective, especially for steering and novel hypotheses. A few raise concerns that labs may use mathematicians as cheap labor to validate AI outputs, while the organizers clarify they are student-led and sponsors have no say. Many see value in exploring how AI changes mathematical work.