Technology May 15, 2026 · 1 min read

AI research papers are getting better, and it’s a big problem for scientists

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. Published in 2017, the paper had assessed the accuracy of a particular type of stat...

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The Verge
by Joshua Dzieza
AI research papers are getting better, and it’s a big problem for scientists
Beaker overflowing with green slime and smoke as research papers fly out of it.

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. Published in 2017, the paper had assessed the accuracy of a particular type of statistical analysis on epidemiological data and had received a respectable few dozen citations in other research papers over the years, but now it was being referenced every few days, hundreds of times, placing it among the most cited papers of his career. Another professor might be thrilled. Degen's adviser asked him to investigate.

Degen, a postd …

Read the full story at The Verge.

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This article was originally published by The Verge and written by Joshua Dzieza.

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