AI reveals huge amounts of fraud in medical research | DW News

New detection tools powered by AI have lifted the lid on what some are calling an epidemic of fraud in medical research and publishing. Last year, the number of papers retracted by research journals topped 10,000 for the first time.

One case involved the chief of a cancer surgery division at Columbia University’s medical center. An investigation found that dozens of his cancer treatment studies contained dubious data and recycled images. Other scandals have hit Harvard on the East Coast and on the West Coast it is Stanford University. A scandal there resulted in the resignation of the president last year.

Chapters:
0:00 What we think we know about medical research
1:32 Arthur Caplan, NYU Langone Medical Center

Follow DW on social media:
#medical #ai #medicalfraud

[Jianju]

One disappointment as a scientist is to discover that you are not working to uncover the truth, but that you are working to secure funding.

[iRunKids]

Whenever there’s a whistleblower, especially at Ivy League schools, the University, “investigates” themselves and almost always declares that they did nothing wrong, it’s a joke.

[JLeonSarmiento]

Just wait until you get to pharmaceuticals studies…

[dilibau]

But are we really surprised though…? Publish or perish has always been the bane of science

[TheRm]

Recently I read about a very senior researcher who published over 800 papers at the rate of roughly two papers each and every week. Of course this is absurd. Most of the papers were garbage generated to keep this researcher's name current, presumably for funding purposes. We've known for years that a surprising amount of published research is false and that many journals are simply money hustles for the publishers, yet despite occasional hand-wringing nothing has changed. Replication is key, yet there is no glamour in doing this very necessary grunt work: no young researcher wants to spend his/her career replicating someone else's work because, professionally, it's the kiss of death. As Mr. Caplan has pointed out, our "news" media are complicit in what amounts to institutionalized fraud, always eager to tout the latest alleged breakthrough to keep their viewers/readers attention (and thereby sell things through advertising). It's a rotten system.

[seitanbeatsyourmeat]

This is how AI should be used… as a helper in verification, safety, research, etc.

[batosato]

I left academia some times ago because it was all about publishing without substance. Research takes time and effort to mature. If an institute forces their employee to maintain their h-factor and does not value the quality of their research then there is something seriously wrong.

[luisrocha]

This is not bad news… it is actually VERY GOOD NEWS for the integrity of Science and Medicine. And ultimately… for better patient care. Bring it on. Best research will shine

[fallenfossl]

Academia is broken as a whole. Doesnt shock me at all, I've had a lot of mates leave Academia due to the insane requirements for publication and directions from wherever the money comes from ...
We need to fix it overall, to reduce the pressure on scientists like this.

[daffidkane]

It’s a problem across the academy as well. Money and ideology corrupts everything.

[cat-tzu]

Good to view this. But, from the headline "AI reveals…." I was expecting more about just how AI did that.

[tbrandy]

It wouldn't be such a pain to publish if "negative studies" were given just as much importance as "positive results".

[hesar]

as former publisher I assure it it applies to science as a whole

[oedhelsetren]

The problem here is educational institutions benefiting from the work of students and faculty that result in excess pressure to perform. We need to separate research from education.

[knwmore]

This has been going on for a very long time.

[ktt]

“ It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgement of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines.
 I take no pleasure in this conclusion, which I reached slowly and reluctantly over my two decades as an editor of The New England Journal of Medicine.” (2009)

- Marcia Angell MD

[TriAnglesD]

In his later years my father refused to publish until he had something to publish.

The politics wedged him out not much later despite patents and awards.

He started university at 16, was teaching at 21. Dual specialist in Embryology and Endocrinology. UCLA, WashU. And, was eventually head of Endocrinology.

Its not just in medicine. In engineering as well as many of professions. Same thing. Even in nursing; report each week to now report your each minute.

[simulatednatas]

They need to discredit not only this evil peolple but also institutions

[alexxx]

Paying by the amout of papers published is the same as paying by the amount of lines of code programmed.

[kinngrimm]

I am not shocked. Been hearing about this for years now. Reducing corrupt/bogus science due to AI double checking seems like a good thing. I don't care for the reasons why these frauds did come to be(though judges might), but getting rid of them and thereby what remains can be seen as reliable, that i do care about.