OpenAI's Faster FFT Is a Galactic Algorithm That Can't Run on Any Real Computer
OpenAI algorithm for the FFT is less a breakthrough and more a malicious exploit
OpenAI's math repository claims a faster Fourier transform, but the algorithm relies on exact complex arithmetic with superpolynomial magnitudes, making it a galactic algorithm with hidden constants like 10^100. It's asymptotically faster in big-O notation, yet practically useless because it assumes an unrealistic model of computation. This isn't a breakthrough; it's a symptom of theoretical computer science losing touch with actual computers.
This new OpenAI result is thus less a mathematical breakthrough and more an oddity of computer scientists being bad at formalizing their design specifications.