Fake Photos, AI Tools, and Research Fraud with Elisabeth Bik

Insights Xchange: Conversations Shaping Academic Research

Research fraud is increasingly common these days. Will AI tools just make this worse or can they help combat fraud? Nikesh Gosalia talks to Elisabeth Bik about research fraud, starting with the plagiarism incident that inspired Elisabeth to become a full-time research integrity volunteer. She talks about the main factor pushing researchers to commit scientific fraud: the pressure to publish. Despite the high volume of papers being published these days, Elisabeth feels that quantity doesn’t always reflect quality. She discusses the development of AI tools and their effect on scientific fraud, such as the use of AI tools to create fake photos. Conversely, there are tools to detect fraudulent elements, but their limitations mean that human input is still needed. She also shares her techniques for detecting research misconduct, from examining duplicated photos to questionable animal ethics. Finally, Nikesh and Elisabeth touch on issues surrounding open science and research misconduct. Elisabeth thinks the adoption of open science will help reduce fraud in academic publishing.

Dr Elisabeth Bik is a science integrity consultant and microbiologist. With a PhD in microbiology, she has worked in academic publishing as a science editor and director of science. Featured across multiple mainstream media outlets, Elisabeth received the 2021 John Maddox Prize for her work on exposing threats to research integrity. She can be reached on Twitter.

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