‘Romance’ between scientists and AI leads to progress on age-old maths problem

South China Morning PostEN 1 min read 100% complete by Victoria BelaFebruary 19, 2026 at 07:00 AM

AI Summary

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Chinese scientists have used an AI system called PackingStar to make progress on the "kissing number" problem, a mathematical challenge dating back to 1694. Researchers from Peking University, Fudan University, and the Shanghai Academy of AI for Science (SAIS) developed the AI to surpass the limits of human intuition and standard computing in high-dimensional geometry. Their work, described as a collaboration between humans and machines, achieved record-breaking advances on the problem, which has implications for data storage and telecommunications. The team published their findings in a preprint paper on arXiv in November, highlighting AI's potential to reshape mathematical understanding and drive progress on long-standing geometry problems. The research demonstrates AI's capability in tackling complex mathematical challenges.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

David Gregory 50% Isaac Newton 60% Fudan University 70% Shanghai Academy of AI for Science (SAIS) 75% Peking University ×280% China 80%

Keywords

artificial intelligence 100% kissing number problem 90% mathematics 90% geometry 70% telecommunications 60% data storage 60% high-dimensional geometry 50% packingstar 50% peking university 40%

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Very Positive

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South China Morning Post

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90%

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China

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artificial intelligence kissing number problem mathematics geometry telecommunications data storage high-dimensional geometry packingstar peking university

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