- A book on AI research ethics published by Springer Nature is under heavy fire for containing dozens of suspicious citations, including non-existent scientific journals.
- The book, titled Social, Ethical and Legal Aspects of Generative AI, was promoted as a prestigious scholarly work on the ethical issues of generative AI and sold for £125 (approximately $156).
- The Times discovered at least two chapters in the book using unverifiable footnotes, showing classic signs of generative AI content.
- In one chapter, 8 out of 11 citations had no traceable origin, representing a failure rate of over 70% due to potential fabrication.
- One citation claimed to be from the “Harvard AI Journal,” but Harvard Business Review confirmed no such journal exists.
- Professor Guillaume Cabanac (University of Toulouse) used the BibCheck tool to analyze and found that 11 out of 21 citations in the first chapter did not match any academic work.
- He labeled this “research misconduct,” including the falsification and fabrication of references, while warning of the rising trend of “hallucinated” citations caused by AI.
- An independent study by Dr. Nathan Camp (New Mexico State University) also found many false, mixed, or entirely fabricated citations in the book.
- Springer Nature acknowledged the issue and stated their research integrity team is investigating urgently, although they maintained that the majority of their publications still meet high standards.
📌 Conclusion: A book on AI research ethics published by Springer Nature is facing severe criticism for containing dozens of suspicious citations, including non-existent scientific journals. The incident highlights the serious risks when generative AI deeply penetrates academic publishing without strict oversight. A £125 book on AI ethics containing a series of fake citations—with over 70% in some chapters being unverifiable—shakes confidence in the peer-review process. It underscores an urgent need for source verification, author accountability, and processes to detect AI-generated content in global academic publishing.
