AI cracks Nazi code that stumped scientists since 2005
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OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra and Anthropic’s Claude Opus 5 artificial intelligence systems recently deciphered encrypted messages from the Enigma machine, a device used by Nazi Germany during World War II.
These breakthroughs build on the historical efforts of Alan Turing and other cryptanalysts who worked to break Enigma codes. Carter Leffen prompted Astra to search a database for an unsolved Enigma message, and after two days, the AI successfully reconstructed the text.
Frode Weierud, a retired electrical engineer and cryptography researcher, validated Astra’s solution and noted the AI’s professional approach to the task, estimating it would have taken weeks or months for a human to achieve the same result. Weierud also observed that Astra referenced messages from a “private collection” not included in his database, raising questions about the source of the AI’s information.
Separately, Jack Willis used Claude Opus 5 with specific guidance, including a known officer’s name, to decode another Enigma message on September 21st. While these advances have solved two historical puzzles, seven Enigma messages remain unsolved, along with one message where the text is known but the code is not.
