TMLR Quizzed 10 Desk-Rejection Authors; Most Couldn't Explain Their Own Papers

hihey54 · reddit · 2026-09-17

TMLR reached out to authors of 10 papers slated for desk rejection to see if they could explain their own work. Results: 1 withdrew, 1 was unavailable, 1 no-showed a scheduled interview, 3 couldn't answer basic questions, 3 handled high-level ideas but stumbled on technical details, and only 1 answered everything (though a major flaw was still found). A rare empirical look at AI paper mill culture.

Related event: TMLR Desk Rejections Hit 53% as Editors Quiz Authors on Their Own Papers(8 posts)→

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