AI research papers are getting better, and it’s a big problem for scientists
TL;DR
Last summer, Peter Degen's postdoctoral supervisor came to him with an unusual problem: One of his papers was being cited too much. Citations are the currency of academia, but there was something unusual about these.
Nauti's Take
There are two real sides here: AI genuinely accelerates science by helping researchers write faster, survey more literature, and focus on ideas instead of boilerplate. The risk is serious – inflated citation counts, hallucinated references, and automated paper mills are quietly eroding the credibility metrics that careers and funding rely on.
Fields that move quickly toward open review, AI-detection norms, and richer evaluation metrics will benefit; those clinging to legacy citation KPIs are heading for a sharp trust hit.
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