Erdős Problem #218

Partial progress by GPT (28 Jan 2026): conditional solution.

Problem
Erdős problem #218 (number theory, primes); current status: open
Credit
GPT · AI on its own; related literature found afterwards
Checked
Listed in Tao's wiki
Timeline
First AI contribution 2026-01-28 · wiki data as of 2026-06-30
Sources
Problem page (erdosproblems.com)Tao's AI-contributions wiki
PARTIALPer Tao's AI-contributions wiki

The problem

Let dn=pn+1−pnd_n=p_{n+1}-p_n. The set of nn such that dn+1≥dnd_{n+1}\geq d_n has density 1/21/2, and similarly for dn+1≤dnd_{n+1}\leq d_n. Furthermore, there are infinitely many nn such that dn+1=dnd_{n+1}=d_n.

Statement quoted from erdosproblems.com/218, maintained by Thomas Bloom. Original source: [Er55c][Er57][Er61][Er65b][Er85c]. Current status there: open.

AI contributions

As recorded in Terence Tao's wiki AI contributions to Erdős problems (data as of 30 Jun 2026). 🟢 full, 🟡 partial, ⚪ unverified, 🔴 incorrect.

Date Kind AI systems Outcome Literature
28 Jan, 2026 AI on its own; related literature found afterwards GPT 🟡 Conditional solution 🟡 Banks (2023)

Caveats

The wiki's classifications are provisional and are not a benchmark. Many Erdős problems have never had a thorough literature review, so a result that looks new may later turn out to be known; some problems were also stated ambiguously or incorrectly. See the problem page for the full discussion.

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