Dozens of references in machine learning texts appear to be fake or wrong.
The Springer Nature Book on Machine Learning is being scrutinized after researchers discovered that many of its citations were manufactured or incorrect.
18 quote reviews Mastering Machine Learning: From basics to advanced Two-thirds refer to non-existent papers or reveal either authors and false authors and sources of publication.
Some scholars whose names are included in the book confirmed that they did not write the material cited, while others noted inaccuracies in the locations where actual works were believed to have been published. One researcher was warned by Google Scholar of multiple fake quotes in his name.
Author Govindakumar Madhavan has not confirmed whether AI tools are being used to create content, but his book explains ethical concerns about text generated in AI.
Springer Nature acknowledges the issue and investigates whether the book violates its AI usage policy.
The incident rekinds publishers' quality control concerns, with critics pointing to an increasing misuse of large-scale language models of academic texts. As AI tools become more sophisticated, ensuring the integrity of published research continues to grow for both authors and editors.
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