This past week, there was quite a stir in the scientific community when an academic journal, Frontiers, retracted a paper that had gained viral attention due to some bizarre, AI-generated images.
Scholarly Journal Withdraws Research After AI-Created Rat Penis Images Spread Widely
The study, titled "Cellular functions of spermatogonial stem cells in relation to JAK/STAT signaling pathway," was published on February 13, 2024. However, it quickly caught social media's eye for its unconventional portrayal of a rat's anatomy.
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| (Credit: Frontiers) |
The authors of the paper, Xinyu Guo, Liang Dong, and Dingjun Hao, apparently utilized an AI tool called Midjourney to produce these images. While it's uncertain what exact instructions they fed into Midjourney, the result was an exaggerated depiction of a rat's reproductive organ, which they seemingly didn't find problematic.
AI-generated images often come with inaccuracies, and in this case, Midjourney's labels included misspelled terms like "dck" (presumably meant to be "dick") and "testtomcels" (likely intended as "testicles"). Nonetheless, it correctly identified the subject as a "rat."
As these images circulated online, scientists quickly pointed out the glaring errors and raised concerns about the peer review process.
One of the reviewers, Jingbo Dai from Northwestern University, based in the US, apparently noticed these inaccuracies but didn't prevent the publication of the paper. Dai mentioned that his responsibility was primarily focused on the scientific content of the study and suggested inquiring with Frontiers about their policy regarding AI-generated visuals.
Frontiers has acknowledged the importance of open science and swiftly responded to community feedback regarding the AI-generated images in the article. They expressed sincere apologies to the scientific community for the oversight and appreciated the readers who brought the issue to their attention.
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| (Credit: Frontiers) |
During Frontiers' investigation into what went wrong, they discovered that one of the reviewers had indeed raised concerns about the figures and requested revisions from the authors, which unfortunately went unaddressed. They are currently examining how their processes failed to address the lack of author compliance with the reviewers' requests.
In a disclaimer, Frontiers stated that the views expressed in the article solely belong to the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of their affiliated organizations, the publisher, editors, or reviewers. They also clarified that any product mentioned in the article or claims made by its manufacturer are not endorsed or guaranteed by the publisher.
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