Research Integrity and Scholarly Excellence (RISE) Lecture Series: Maintaining and Communicating a Robust Scientific Record in an Age of AI and Social Media

Artificial intelligence (AI) and social media have created new challenges for communication and review of scientific research. Websites such as PubPeer allow public comments on published research that has already undergone peer-review. Increasingly, these public comments include allegations of research misconduct. While such allegations may or may not result in findings of research misconduct, they can impact the public’s perception of the research enterprise.

In this Research Integrity and Scholarly Excellence Lecture Series event, join Holden Thorp, Editor-in-Chief of the Science Journals, who will discuss these challenges.

In this session, Thorp will share cases where scientific papers have required correction, retraction, or — after review — no action. In each instance, transparent communication from journals, institutions, and authors helped minimize reputational damage to science, while obfuscation worsened it. Thorp will consider a healthier research ecosystem that would destigmatize correction and retraction, encourage open responses instead of evasive statements, and separate misconduct findings from record corrections.

Host and Speaker

About the Series

Each semester, the Division of Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance invites a notable scholar or subject matter expert to share their ideas on ethical issues that are shaping the future of scholarship and the research enterprise. The goal of this lecture series is to foster ethical scholarship, explore a diversity of perspectives about the roles and responsibilities of scholars and researchers, and reflect on the ethical impact of our work in the modern world.