[sito42]

Most scientific "products" are not bound books or pdf. The software, datasets, proofs, algorithms, etc contained within them (or in the dreaded "replication materials") are usually more valuable than the text that scientists write around them. We use the text merely to communicate the contribution and its value to other humans. I suspect AI will outperform the best humans at this communication task very soon. Is the purpose of a dissertation really to demonstrate that a human has the capacity to write effective prose? There are many scientists who are brilliant but are terrible at this task. Do we really wish to shun them and their ideas?

In the future, the best science will be produced by those that wield AI tools most effectively. Academics need to figure out how to assess scientific work within this context. This is not a good solution.