GPT-6 Astra Solves a WWI German Radio Cipher
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
GPT-6 Astra decodes an unsolved WWI German ADFGVX cipher from 1918.
The cipher, from a list of 50 unsolved on Scienceblogs.de, was a WWI German ADFGVX radio message transmitted November 27, 1918. Using the key 'TRUPPENVERSCHIEBUNG'-documented as starting December 9, 1918-Astra decoded it: 'AN ENGLISH CRUISER ARRIVED AT SEVASTOPOL ON THE ?4TH AN ALLIED SQUADRON FOLLOWS ON THE 26TH'. Astra verified the event: HMS Canterbury arrived November 24, 1918, and an allied squadron followed November 26, per original ship logs.
What commenters are saying
Commenters debated the plausibility of the solution. Some noted the cipher has limited degrees of freedom, making a fake key unlikely. Others pointed out that the key was independently documented, not invented. One commenter argued that matching a real historical event (ship arrival) by chance is statistically improbable. A subthread questioned whether LLMs could fabricate evidence, but concluded the validation against ship logs makes fabrication unlikely.