Scientists Warn AI Slop Is Wreaking Havoc in the Research World
Key takeaways
- Scientific papers rely on readers trusting their information.
- A key limitation of large language models such as Gemini and Chat GPT is their tendency to produce plausible-sounding but incorrect information, a phenomenon known as hallucination.
- While scientific papers are often hidden from the public eye, the research they report has a profound impact on our lives.
Scientific papers rely on readers trusting their information. That's why it's disturbing that a new study by researchers connected with Cornell and UCLA found 146,900 AI-generated fake citations in scientific papers hosted across four major research databases.
A key limitation of large language models such as Gemini and Chat GPT is their tendency to produce plausible-sounding but incorrect information, a phenomenon known as hallucination. If a researcher relies on a chatbot to draft citations without verifying them, the model may generate references that are entirely fabricated.
While scientific papers are often hidden from the public eye, the research they report has a profound impact on our lives. Everything from the internet to lithium-ion batteries began as a research paper.