MIT says that due to concerns about the “integrity” of a high profile article on the effects of artificial intelligence on research and innovation, the document must be “retired from public discourse.”
The article in question, “artificial intelligence, scientific discovery and innovation of products”, was written by a doctoral student in the University Economics Program. He claimed to show that the introduction of an AI tool in a large but not identified material science laboratory led to the discovery of more materials and more patent presentations, but at the expense of reducing the satisfaction of researchers with their work.
MITON DARON ACEMOGLU economists (who recently won the Nobel Prize) and David author praised the newspaper last year, with Author telling the Wall Street Journal I was “with the floor.” In a statement included in MIT ad On Friday, Acemoglu and author described the document as “already known and discussed widely in the literature on AI and Science, although it has not been published in any arbitrated magazine.”
However, the two economists said that “they have no confidence in the origin, reliability or validity of the data and in the veracity of the research.”
According to the WSJA computer scientist with experience in material sciences approached Acemoglu and author with concerns in January. They brought those concerns to MIT, which led to an internal review.
MIT says that due to students’ privacy laws, he cannot reveal the results of that review, but the author of the document “is no longer in the MIT.” And although the university announcement does not name the author, both A version of newspaper preprinted and the initial press coverage identifies him as Aidan Toner-Rodgers. (Techcrunch has contacted Toner-Rodgers to comment).
MIT also says that he has requested that the document be removed from the quarterly Journal of Economics, where it was sent for publication and the Arxiv Preimpression website. Apparently, only the authors of a document are supposed to have requests for retirement from Arxiv, but MIT says “to date, the author has not done so.”