Artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs)

Introduction

ImportantProblem statement

As these tools grow increasingly powerful, their integration into the research ecosystem has facilitated a troubling delegation of core intellectual responsibilities to automated systems. This shift undermines academic integrity through the use of undisclosed machine-generated text in place of original authorship, often resulting in the propagation of fabricated citations and synthetic data points. Moreover, the employment of LLMs to automate peer review breaches participant confidentiality and erodes the expert oversight fundamental to scientific validation (McIntosh et al. 2026).

AI-generated “slop” image (Rajesh and Elumalai 2025). Reproduced under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Identified by Michal Wojcik (https://bsky.app/profile/peer-reviewed-slop.bsky.social/post/3mtdqakihpk2f).

Key resources

Note“Using AI to write scholarly publications”

A summary of the issue by Hosseini et al. (2024)

Note“Research integrity is locked into an arms race with agentic AI slop”

Blog post by Barnett and Spick (2026).

Note“Dramatic increases in redundant publications in the Generative AI era”

Analysis by Maupin et al. (2025).

NoteAcadem-AI

A repository of suspected undeclared generative AI use in the academic literature, by Alex Glynn

NotePeer-Reviewed Slop

A collection of suspected AI-generated images in the peer-reviewed literature, by Michal Wojcik

NoteAI involvement in legal proceedings

• AI Hallucination Cases
• AI Evidence Cases
• AI Discovery

by Damien Charlotin

Bibliography

Barnett, Adrian, and Matt Spick. 2026. “Research Integrity Is Locked into an Arms Race with Agentic AI Slop.” LSE Impact, March 17. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2026/03/17/research-integrity-is-locked-into-an-arms-race-with-agentic-ai-slop/.

Forgas, Rubén Comas, Cinta Gallent Torres, Carmen Touza Garma, and Alex Glynn. 2026. “Lexical Traces of AI: Linguistic Impact of Generative Tools in Academic Abstracts.” Learned Publishing 39 (3): e2067. https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.2067.

Glynn, Alex. 2024. “Suspected Undeclared Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Academic Literature: An Analysis of the Academ-AI Dataset.” arXiv:2411.15218. Preprint, arXiv, November 20. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2411.15218.

Glynn, Alex. 2025a. “Guarding Against Artificial Intelligence -- Hallucinated Citations: The Case for Full-Text Reference Deposit.” European Science Editing 51 (July): e153973. https://doi.org/10.3897/ese.2025.e153973.

Glynn, Alex. 2025b. “The Case for Universal Artificial Intelligence Declaration on the Precedent of Conflict of Interest.” Accountability in Research 32 (6): 1046–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/08989621.2024.2345719.

Hosseini, Mohammad, Lisa M. Rasmussen, and David B. Resnik. 2024. “Using AI to Write Scholarly Publications.” Accountability in Research 31 (7): 715–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/08989621.2023.2168535.

Maupin, Danny, Tulsi Suchak, Adrian Barnett, and Matt Spick. 2025. “Dramatic Increases in Redundant Publications in the Generative AI Era.” BMC Medicine 24 (1): 29. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-025-04569-y.

McIntosh, Leslie D., Anna Abalkina, Achal Agrawal, et al. 2026. “Forensic Scientometrics (FoSci) Report 2026: Understanding, Detecting, and Documenting Manipulation in the Research Ecosystem.” Version 3. Preprint, Figshare, July 17. 1012969 Bytes. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.32178456.v3.

Rajesh, Mukesh Vijayarangam, and Karthikeyan Elumalai. 2025. “The Transformative Power of Artificial Intelligence in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing: Enhancing Efficiency, Product Quality, and Safety.” Journal of Holistic Integrative Pharmacy 6 (2): 125–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhip.2025.03.007.