Economist Paul Novosad decries LLM-written peer reviews as pushing academia to a worse equilibrium

paulnovosad · x · 2026-09-30

Economist Paul Novosad criticized the practice of using LLMs to write peer review reports, arguing that even if individuals privately benefit, it pushes academic reviewing toward a worse equilibrium. He notes people managed to write their own referee reports before 2022 — it was never the hard part — and the norm of writing them yourself should continue.

The exchange highlights a live debate about LLM use in peer review: where to draw the line between AI assistance and AI ghostwriting as adoption spreads.

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