Hidden AI Prompts Trick Academics Into Giving Research Papers Only Positive Comments

Hidden AI prompts were reportedly found in 17 research papers from 14 academic institutions globally, including Columbia University.

Researchers from 14 academic institutions in eight countries hid AI prompts in their research papers to fool reviewers who use AI tools into providing positive feedback, Nikkei reported in July. They examined papers from the US, Japan, South Korea, China, and elsewhere. Most of the papers were in the field of computer science.

In total, 17 papers contained the prompts, including work from the University of Washington and Columbia University.

AI prompts are written in white text or tiny font

All of the articles had not undergone formal peer review and were posted on the academic research platform arXiv, Nikkei said.

Reviewers are generally prohibited from using AI tools when assessing papers, as human experience and knowledge separate rigorous papers from sloppy ones. Publishing a peer-reviewed paper can be ...