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MIT Retracts AI Study Citing Flawed Data, Researcher Disaffiliated

MIT retracts viral AI study claiming innovation boost, citing validity concerns and disassociating from the research and its author.

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MIT Retracts AI Study Citing Flawed Data, Researcher Disaffiliated

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has disassociated itself with the work of a PhD candidate on how AI is affecting jobs that had impressed the industry professionals. The MIT issued a statement on Friday (May 16), stating that it examined the paper in response to concerns raised and determined that it should be “removed from public discussion.”.

MIT Requests Withdrawal from arXiv and Economics Journal

“MIT has contacted arXiv to formally request that the paper be withdrawn and The Quarterly Journal of Economics, where it had been submitted,” read the statement by MIT.

The university said it had requested the study author to submit the request to withdraw the paper, but they had not done it yet.

“Our understanding is that only authors of papers appearing on arXiv can submit withdrawal requests. We have directed the author to submit such a request, but to date, the author has not done so. Therefore, in an effort to clarify the research record, MIT respectfully request that the paper be marked as withdrawn from arXiv as soon as possible.”

Paper Initially Garnered Praise from Top Economists

The “Artificial Intelligence, Scientific Discovery, and Product Innovation” paper was posted on the preprint server, arXiv, in November 2024. Preprints are not yet peer reviewed by definition, but the research did attract a lot of interest, including that of the likes of MIT economists Daron Acemoglu (who just won the Nobel Prize) and David Autor. The latter explained to the Wall Street Journal that he was “floored” by the results.

The research asserted that introducing AI to a large but unspecified materials science lab resulted in more materials being discovered and more patent applications. Efficiency came at the expense of diminishing researchers’ satisfaction with their work, though.

MIT Economists Raise Concerns About Validity

Both Mr Acemoglu and Mr Autor, who were credited in the paper footnote, put out a statement with the MIT release. stating that they identified inconsistencies in the study after it was released.

“Over time, we had concerns about the validity of this research, which we brought to the attention of the appropriate office at MIT. In early February, MIT followed its written policy and conducted an internal, confidential review,” read the joint statement. The researcher responsible for the study is no longer affiliated with the university, MIT added.

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