Researchers Identify AI-Generated Fake Citations in Scientific Papers, Raising Concerns Over Research Integrity
A recent study by researchers from Cornell and UCLA has uncovered a significant number of AI-generated fake citations in scientific papers. The study analyzed 111 million references from 2.5 million papers and found 146,900 instances of fake citations across four major research databases: arXiv, bioRxiv, SSRN, and PubMed Central. These fake citations are attributed to the use of large language models like ChatGPT, which can produce plausible but incorrect information, a phenomenon known as hallucination. The study highlights that the issue is widespread, with many researchers relying on AI-generated references without proper verification. This has raised concerns about the erosion of trust in the scholarly record, which is fundamental to peer review and cumulative knowledge. 
