Daniel Lemire: AI-generated papers are exposing academia's 'Profzi scheme'
lemire · x · 2026-10-21
Computer scientist Daniel Lemire invokes Jorge Cham's classic 'Profzi Scheme' comic to argue that academia resembles a Ponzi scheme: students mass-produce papers for professors who take credit, few advisees land careers, and the whole system rests on equating peer-reviewed papers with new knowledge.
AI is exposing this, he says: in mathematics, models are bypassing peer review entirely and delivering correct proofs to problems the math establishment deemed important — 'the great AI debunking.'
His prescription: research should return to solving problems people actually care about, not producing papers (peer review only became dominant in the 1970s). He predicts the 'Profzi scheme' will fall once students realize paper production is a solved problem.
More from AGI Musings
- Ben Goertzel outlines a general recipe for superintelligence 'basic drives': what it improves vs. protects — bengoertzel · 2026-10-21
- Torch vs Flame: researchers debate whether AI's endgame serves humanity or life itself — danfaggella · 2026-10-21
- 2022 interview resurfaced: AI safety researcher says competence, not consciousness, is the risk — davidmanheim · 2026-10-21
- Silicon Valley is a stock market for people: narrative eventually catches up with substance — karinanguyen · 2026-10-21
- Half of humanity is fed by one century-old reaction — time for AI machines to hunt for more — shyamalanadkat · 2026-10-21
- Agent identity verification will be a mess: restaurants ignore AI emails — alliekmiller · 2026-10-21