Reviewer warns: 8 slop papers, all rejected — and it closes doors to PhD admissions

AnkaReuel · x · 2026-09-20

Hilde Kuehne warned against submitting AI "slop" papers you haven't even bothered to understand: withdraw them while you can — no job or PhD position will come of it, but it stays on your CV forever, and interviewers will ask about it.

AnkaReuel added a first-hand account: while PC'ing last year, an author he personally knew submitted 8 slop papers, all rejected — and reviewers are often the very professors those applicants will later ask for grad school admission. "Guess who I'd never work with or admit to my lab."

Takeaway: the reviewing community is small, real names are visible, and the cost of flooding venues with slop far outweighs any benefit.

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