Will 60,000 ICLR Submissions Kill Academia? Insiders Say Reputation, Not Papers, Rules

JundeMorsenWu · x · 2026-09-21

Responding to concerns that 60,000 ICLR submissions could kill academia, the author argues professional academia is a small-circle game: in any specialized field fewer than 100 people worldwide form the real community, judged by lab pedigree and mentorship rather than paper counts. Pumping out 100 AI-written ICLR papers would just make you a joke in that circle.

AI does, however, raise the barrier for newcomers: papers alone no longer prove ability, so interviews, internships, recommendation letters, and hands-on collaboration carry far more weight.

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