MIT has raised concerns about the integrity of a high-profile paper on the impact of artificial intelligence on scientific research and innovation, stating that the paper should be “withdrawn from public discourse.”

Controversial Paper Claimed AI Boosted Innovation

The paper, titled “Artificial Intelligence, Scientific Discovery, and Product Innovation,” was authored by a doctoral student in MIT’s economics program. It claimed that introducing an AI tool into a large materials science lab resulted in more discoveries and patent filings — but also a decline in researchers’ job satisfaction.

Praise From Nobel Laureate Economists

Prominent MIT economists Daron Acemoglu and David Autor initially praised the paper. Autor told The Wall Street Journal he was “floored,” and both noted that the paper was widely known in AI and science discussions, even though it hadn’t been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Economists Withdraw Support Amid Data Concerns

Acemoglu and Autor have now retracted their support, stating they have “no confidence in the provenance, reliability or validity of the data and in the veracity of the research.”

Concerns Prompt Internal Review at MIT

According to WSJ, a computer scientist with materials science expertise raised red flags in January. This prompted Acemoglu and Autor to take the concerns to MIT, which initiated an internal investigation.

MIT Cites Privacy, Declines to Share Review Results

MIT has not disclosed the outcome of the review due to student privacy laws but confirmed the student is “no longer at MIT.” Though unnamed in the announcement, the author has been publicly identified as Aidan Toner-Rodgers.

Withdrawal Requested From Journals and arXiv

MIT has asked for the paper’s withdrawal from The Quarterly Journal of Economics and the preprint site arXiv. However, arXiv requires authors themselves to request removal, and MIT says the author has not done so yet.