AI startups face backlash over AI-generated conference papers

There is a growing controversy over AI-generated studies submitted to this year's International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR). This conference is a major event for artificial intelligence research. Three AI labs, Sakana, Intology, and Autoscience, claim they used AI to create studies that were accepted to ICLR workshops. Sakana informed ICLR leaders about their AI-generated papers and got consent from peer reviewers before submitting them. However, Intology and Autoscience did not seek such approval, which has sparked backlash from the academic community. Critics say this undermines the peer review process, which is crucial yet labor-intensive. Many academics have expressed their concerns on social media. They argue that using peer review for publicity without consent from reviewers shows a lack of respect for their time and effort. One assistant professor pointed out that these AI-generated papers exploit the system without acknowledging the work of human reviewers. The issue of AI-generated content in academia has been growing. A recent survey noted that a significant percentage of papers submitted to AI conferences contained synthetic text. Critics suggest that AI companies are now using peer review to benchmark and promote their technology. Sakana has already acknowledged some mistakes in its submissions, stating that one of its papers made significant citation errors. In a move for transparency, Sakana decided to withdraw its paper from ICLR. Meanwhile, calls for better oversight of AI-generated studies are increasing. Experts believe there should be a regulated system to evaluate these papers, ensuring that researchers are compensated for their contributions.