How cheap AI is undermining Indonesia’s academic credibility

Indonesian authorities are investigating a fraud scandal at a medical conference in Denmark where a woman allegedly impersonated a researcher and presented AI-generated, fabricated data. The case has exposed underground WhatsApp groups and paper mills that help lecturers buy academic promotions, undermining Indonesia's academic credibility.

Advertisement How cheap AI is undermining Indonesia’s academic credibility A fraud scandal at a medical conference in Denmark exposes the underground WhatsApp groups and paper mills helping lecturers buy promotion 4-MIN READ4-MIN Indonesian https://www.scmp.com/topics/indonesia?module=inline&pgtype=article authorities are widening their investigation into a case of suspected identity and research fraud at an overseas medical conference, which has exposed gaps in academic oversight and revived concerns about abuses in the nation’s system of publication-driven promotion for academia. The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology has set up a team to examine papers previously published by the alleged perpetrators, saying action would be taken if they were found to have used falsified data. The inquiry follows an incident in May, when an Indonesian woman allegedly changed her name tag and altered her appearance to impersonate another person while presenting studies suspected of containing fabricated data and AI-generated material at a conference in Denmark https://www.scmp.com/topics/denmark?module=inline&pgtype=article organised by the International Society for Pneumonia and Pneumococcal Diseases ISPPD .The studies were supposedly done by four researchers, but she was the only one who travelled to Copenhagen. Two Indonesian academics, including one who attended the conference, spotted what they believed was a web of deception and posted their suspicions on social media, where the case went viral and caught officials’ attention. Advertisement Select Voice Select Speed 1.00x