Science Weekly Fraud, AI slop and huge profits: is science publishing broken?
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Oct 2, 2025 Scientists are sounding the alarm about the urgent need for reform in academic publishing. The rise in paper numbers strains researchers and leads to lower quality amidst publish-or-perish pressures. The episode explores how special issues have turned into profit-driven ventures rather than genuine scholarly efforts. Additionally, concerns over fraudulent practices, including paper mills and AI-generated content, highlight the industry's challenges. Proposed reforms focus on quality over quantity, aiming to restore trust in scientific research.
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Publishing Is Science's Record
- Publishing records how science is done by sharing methods, results and interpretations.
- This publication record is the basis for building and verifying scientific progress.
Paper Output Has Outpaced Researchers
- Paper volume has exploded from ~2 million (2016) to ~3 million (2022) annual articles.
- Researcher numbers have plateaued, creating unsustainable volume pressure on the system.
Volume Creates Noise And Hidden Costs
- Excess publication creates information noise and wastes researchers' time on filtering and review.
- Peer review alone represented over a billion dollars of donated academic effort in 2020.