May 20, 2026, 7:18 PMArXiv announces a ban on AI content and the responses are hilarious.
> You expect us to actually read the papers we cite?!
yes, lol!
https://www.404media.co/new-arxiv-rules-ai-generated-papers-ban/
- May 20, 2026, 7:18 PM
Replies
FediThing :progress_pride:FediThing@chinwag.orgMay 20, 2026, 7:19 PMIs... that reply by Miller serious? Please tell me it wasn't? 😬
- May 20, 2026, 7:21 PM
@FediThing I think he means it. He certainly is doubling down on X https://x.com/JimDMiller/status/2055277720326529036
- FediThing :progress_pride:FediThing@chinwag.orgMay 20, 2026, 7:24 PM
Yikes. Makes you wonder what he thinks citations are for?
clewclew@ecoevo.socialMay 20, 2026, 7:32 PMAlso, what he thinks publication credit is for.
Sassinake! ᑐ ∪ ∩ ⊂Sassinake@mastodon.socialMay 20, 2026, 9:24 PMor analysis. Or reading. Or brains.
May 21, 2026, 8:51 AM@clew @FediThing @docpop i suppose* just for saying 'i made this' ??? except if your using an AI thats ... debatable
Jennifer Moore 😷unchartedworlds@scicomm.xyzMay 20, 2026, 10:18 PMHe said further down in the thread what he thinks citations are for:
"The citations are there to help readers who want to learn more about a sub topic, quickly locate new papers. They also function as a business suit, signaling that you're a serious person."
(yikes)
and various people have replied to that saying no that is not, in fact, what they are for!
- FediThing :progress_pride:FediThing@chinwag.orgMay 20, 2026, 10:20 PM
How is he a professor? 😱
DamonHDDamonHD@mastodon.socialMay 20, 2026, 10:27 PM@FediThing @unchartedworlds @docpop The bar to be one is maybe not as high as it should be? (That's how I hope to sneak in as one, maybe!)
SeiðrIlluminatusMay 21, 2026, 6:28 AM@DamonHD @FediThing @unchartedworlds @docpop There are universities and colleges and then there are "universities" and "colleges". Have you read about "Trump university"?
- DamonHDDamonHD@mastodon.socialMay 21, 2026, 7:11 AM
@Illuminatus @FediThing @unchartedworlds @docpop I've heard about "military intelligence" too...
QCCEクリスQCCEChris@mastodon.socialMay 21, 2026, 11:22 PM@DamonHD @Illuminatus @FediThing @unchartedworlds @docpop "The announcement on arxiv regarding rejection of high probability papers written with AI, has observed a new professor consistent with the characteristic anti-professor, with a local statistical significance exceeding 5-sigma."
It's similar to post-docs or even candidates for PhDs who don't see the difference between theory and hypothesis.
socsoc@chaos.socialMay 21, 2026, 9:43 AM@FediThing @unchartedworlds @docpop "Economics".
John Quigginjohnquiggin@aus.socialMay 21, 2026, 2:04 AM@unchartedworlds @FediThing @docpop
Most notably, in the academic context, they are there to acknowledge previous research on the topic, and position the paper's contribution to this body of research. Hell hath no fury like an academic uncited.
congusbongusgamescongusbongus@mastodon.gamedev.placeMay 21, 2026, 4:20 AM@unchartedworlds @FediThing @docpop so all those Wikipedia nerds adding [citation needed] tags just want more reading material? TIL wow lmao
Violet Maddervioletmadder@kolektiva.socialMay 21, 2026, 7:52 AM@unchartedworlds @FediThing @docpop
Okay, THIS SHIT RIGHT HERE is a fundamental problem on the scale of holy fuck we are not on the same planet morally or ethically or intellectually right now and it's honestly quite terrifying, bad.
We're entering the age of "AI" with jackasses that don't understand the basic value of consent, citations, or clean fucking air to breathe. This is what we're up against.
Averageavghelper@gts.average.nameMay 21, 2026, 9:16 AM@unchartedworlds @FediThing @docpop
"citations are there just to look cool, and to make others think that i am a serious person" - deeply unserious person
May 21, 2026, 3:35 PM@unchartedworlds @FediThing @docpop "They also function as a business suit, signaling that you're a serious person."
Oh, yea, that checks out
Escape planfish4203@tech.lgbtMay 22, 2026, 7:04 AM@unchartedworlds
I think this guy needs to go back to year 7 English and write an essay on a fiction book. He might learn what a quote or reference is for....Then again he might just get an llm to write it and then hand it in not seeing the problem with that.
May 21, 2026, 3:45 PM
ScriptFanix 💑:this_is_fine:ScriptFanix@maly.ioMay 21, 2026, 4:29 PM@chiraag Strong vibes of "wait. you mean I actually have to do the work I want credit for?"
@FediThing @docpop
Chris Silverman 🌻csilverman@mastodon.socialMay 20, 2026, 7:33 PM@docpop @FediThing I'm an xcancel fan, so I figured I'd share the link here:
https://xcancel.com/JimDMiller/status/2055277720326529036
This Miller character, if he's real, is beyond help. Farther down, he basically says that "AI-hallucinated inaccuracies are better than human inaccuracies because the AI inaccuracies are going to be so obviously wrong that no one would take them seriously."
I think I'm starting to see why he's so up in arms about the prospect of his scientific work, as it were, being held to higher standards.
EdEdCates@mastodon.socialMay 20, 2026, 7:38 PM@csilverman @docpop @FediThing
FYI (if you aren't aware), the Libredirect browser extension is a wonderful thing. Set it up once and never accidentally wind up in the Xitter again.
- Chris Silverman 🌻csilverman@mastodon.socialMay 20, 2026, 8:25 PM
mjc0961mjc0961@mastodon.socialMay 20, 2026, 9:33 PM@csilverman Incredibly rare Community Notes W
May 20, 2026, 7:42 PM@docpop @FediThing Well, his point is *slightly* more nuanced in that he's arguing "What if *I* checked the citations I added, but this other guy I co-author with did not on his part of the paper? Why am I responsible?"
To which I reply "sucks to be you, my guy."
- May 20, 2026, 8:27 PM
@docpop @FediThing
To be clear, this is the same kind of argument as "What if I need to shout the N-word to save a baby from being crushed by a bus?", and the like. 
Chaucerburntchaucerburnt@aus.socialMay 21, 2026, 12:18 AM@adriano @docpop @FediThing I think what some people miss, possibly intentionally, is that "responsible" doesn't mean "if your co-author fabricates stuff and lies to you, you will be drummed out of academia even if you had no way of knowing".
It just means that one will be expected to take reasonable steps to avoid such situations, and to remedy them when they emerge.
JaicupJaicup@mindly.socialMay 21, 2026, 4:30 PM@chaucerburnt @adriano @docpop @FediThing if you are publishing research isn't reading and understanding the state of the research step 1?
Erinquietewe@urbanists.socialMay 21, 2026, 12:00 AM@adriano @docpop @FediThing “perhaps you could speak to your co-authors, my guy”
Benjamin BraatzHeptaSean@social.tchncs.deMay 21, 2026, 2:53 AM@adriano @docpop @FediThing Depending on what is usual in his academic field, his thoughts are maybe less “How the f is he a professor?!?” outlandish than the Fedi commenters here think.
For papers with lots of authors and quite strict division of labour for different parts of the paper and different sub-groups of authors, I can very well see that it maybe has not been usual up to now to know every other author and double check their work.
Still seems net positive to me to reinforce responsibility for things with your name on it.
Dark Phoenix 🇺🇦🇨🇦🇬🇱🇵🇦🇵🇸🏳️🌈Darkphoenix@universeodon.comMay 21, 2026, 3:09 AM@HeptaSean @adriano @docpop @FediThing signing your name on a document is a big deal. I worked in engineering before retiring, and I was asked to fix something that was so screwed up I had to completely redo EVERYTHING, and the designer insisted on something that wasn't a good idea. But he insisted. So I did the work, but I refused to sign my name.
:verifiedplural: Violet on Helle's account @ EMF (☎️ 2888), somehow involved with team Welfarehelle@tacobelllabs.netMay 21, 2026, 8:21 AM@adriano @docpop @FediThing I mean not just that, you stuck your name on it, you are just as responsible for the whole thing. Credit goes both ways.
Codey McCodefacebcasiello@floss.socialMay 21, 2026, 4:58 PM@adriano @FediThing @docpop “You co-authored a paper with a bad scientist. Why should we trust your judgment anymore?”
May 21, 2026, 10:32 AM@docpop @FediThing he is (not very elegantly) asking if it's ok to delegate the responsibility to a co-author, I think. Not worth dog piling on this one imho.
sarcoptus scabiumthegarbagebird@theblower.auMay 20, 2026, 11:33 PM@FediThing @docpop classic stanford guy.
- Chris Silverman 🌻csilverman@mastodon.socialMay 20, 2026, 7:25 PM
@docpop Funny how AI-related policy changes are revealing deeper problems that existed before AI was an issue.
Like, Dietterich's text would make perfect sense even in a world where AI never existed. And I wouldn't want to imagine the reaction if blue-check-guy here was a student, asking that question to a teacher/professor in, say, the context of a class on how to properly structure academic writing.
This isn't an "AI" thing, it's a "some people don't belong in science and never did" thing.
Fabian Transchelftranschel@norden.socialMay 20, 2026, 8:59 PM@csilverman @docpop It's almost like broken incentives lead to unintended consequences...
David J. Atkinsonmeltedcheese@c.imMay 21, 2026, 7:55 AM@csilverman @docpop Science is mostly about studious retraction of failed hypotheses for rework or in favor of an alternative. It is very hard for some people to understand that they might be wrong. Others just want the publications. Both types are not doing science. I don’t begrudge anyone their tools but I do insist that authors own what they claim. You can’t blame tools or the scientific method. Tom Dietterich is right on target.
Joe HeafnerheafnerjMay 20, 2026, 7:40 PM@docpop One problem with contemporary physics textbooks is that authors rarely, if ever, read and check the original sources by Einstein and others and proceed to perpetuate misconceptions that we as faculty must repeatedly engage with in our classrooms. It wastes our time and confuses students. This has been a thing long before arXiv or AI so I'm quite sympathetic.
- Dark Phoenix 🇺🇦🇨🇦🇬🇱🇵🇦🇵🇸🏳️🌈Darkphoenix@universeodon.comMay 21, 2026, 3:11 AM
- Joe HeafnerheafnerjMay 21, 2026, 4:42 AM
@Darkphoenix @docpop There are sometimes physics errors in physics textbooks too.
William Canna-bassJizzelEtBass@kolektiva.socialMay 21, 2026, 11:45 AM@heafnerj @docpop
I personally wouldn't put my name to a published work, unless I checked all of the sources and Material were correct to the best of my knowledge. #Integrity- Joe HeafnerheafnerjMay 21, 2026, 1:23 PM
@JizzelEtBass @docpop Same. I consider it a baseline professional expectation, especially since is may affect publishers too.
- Joe HeafnerheafnerjMay 20, 2026, 7:42 PM
@docpop Also, isn't this rather a high school level expectation?
- Fabian Transchelftranschel@norden.socialMay 20, 2026, 8:57 PM
- Joe HeafnerheafnerjMay 21, 2026, 4:41 AM
@ftranschel @docpop Had to look up scnr then it made sense. 😬
May 20, 2026, 7:53 PM@docpop Power move LMAO
Em & future cats 🇺🇦🐈🏳️🌈em_and_future_cats@mastodon.socialMay 20, 2026, 8:38 PM@docpop I thought that’s why you cited them 😹
Or have I read the memo wrong 🤔
(Completely sarcastic here 😹)- Fabian Transchelftranschel@norden.socialMay 20, 2026, 9:02 PM
@docpop I made the mistake of briefly looking at his X posts.
I'm... I'm just going to say I will not comment on it. My god, no.
HappyCrow13HappyCrow13@mastodon.socialMay 20, 2026, 9:39 PM@docpop Local idiot shocked to learn you should understand the subject you're telling other people about
May 20, 2026, 9:44 PM@docpop You expect to get a reasonable response to post on X ???
Ω 🌍 Gus PoseyGustodon@mas.toMay 20, 2026, 9:46 PM@docpop James Miller took apart his Rubik's Cube to solve it.
LevkaLevZadov@kolektiva.socialMay 20, 2026, 9:53 PM
May 20, 2026, 9:58 PM@docpop @EthicalProfessor
They're not egen demanding thauch. Thye just require that authors check the citations are to actual papers, mot just imagined plausible-looking lists.
James M.jamesmarshall@sfba.socialMay 20, 2026, 9:58 PM@docpop from his profile, Miller has a PhD from U. Chicago, a JD from Stanford, and is a professor at Smith College. :/ I think this reflects badly on every one of those-- what is research from these places actually worth, if fake citations are common there?
He and his defenders are basically saying "everyone does it, and you're naive to complain." If it's true that everyone does it, that reflects badly on modern academia as a whole.
Any academic researchers want to chime in here?
- May 21, 2026, 12:44 AM
@jamesmarshall @docpop
He's wrong. Not everyone does it. He's trying an argumentum ad populum. I'm on the publication ethics committee of a major Comp Sci academic society publisher and we would redact papers with multiple non-existent citations and ban the authors from submitting to our publications for at least a year.
You submit it as your work, you stand byit as valid. Jointly and severally, although we sometimes go easy on student joint authors with faculty (faculty should know better). - James M.jamesmarshall@sfba.socialMay 21, 2026, 12:59 AM