The Werner-State Race: AI, Humans, and One Open Problem

About this episode

Three independent teams solved a famous twenty-year-old open problem in quantum information theory — the two-copy distillability of Werner states — within days of each other in late July 2026. One team credits AI models with generating the actual proof; another reached the same conclusion with a fully human derivation. Brian walks through both papers, Terence Tao's ICM warning about 'proof abundance,' and the Leiden Declaration's pushback, then lands his own read on what the convergence actually proves. A solution to 2-copy distillability of Werner states — arXiv On the two-copy distillability of Werner states and a new partial trace inequality — arXiv Five Open Problems in Quantum Information Theory — PRX Quantum Fields Medalist Terence Tao warns AI could produce more math proofs than humans can handle — VnExpress International The Leiden Declaration: Mathematics, AI, and Making Our Values Explicit — Communications of the ACM Have Published The First Research Article In Theoretical Physics Where The Main Idea Came From AI — OfficeChai Quickly Quantum is an AI-voiced podcast, built and run by a real person. Nothing in this episode is financial advice.