Human mathematicians are being outcounterexampled

ChatGPT disproved Erdős' Unit Distance conjecture in May 2026 using a number theory theorem, and within weeks, AI systems and mathematicians working together formalized the entire proof in Lean, an interactive theorem prover. This development represents a significant milestone in combining AI-generated mathematics with formal verification, though it required leveraging advanced mathematical theory that had previously been difficult to formalize. The incident underscores a growing trend where AI systems are outpacing human mathematicians in generating counterexamples and proofs that can be rigorously verified through computational formalization.