Harvard Strips Tenure of $1 Mil/Year Professor

[JohnH]

As opposed to the prior wave of stuff that’s grounded in facts and science like 6’ social distancing?

Social distancing was and is grounded in science. The 6' recommendation was a political compromise. As are most public health measures to some extent.

6' social distancing was not grounded in science.

[Szdfan]

So Harvard has the integrity to fire professors who falsify or plagiarize material.

Since this White House is setting itself up as a higher authority than Harvard, I'm curious if they are going to fire RFK Jr. now that he has produced and released a MAHA "Make our Children Health Again" report (under RFK Jr. and Trump's name) on child health that is riddled with falsified garbage complete with over 37 fake and made up citations. I mean it is a complete embarrassment. Clearly the man has no business running HHS: https://wapo.st/45wdA6A and https://wapo.st/43AWz8O

People haven’t realized they need to fack check AI when you let it write your reports for them.

I wonder if this type of thing will be the most damaging effect of AI, the contamination of knowledge leading to a suspicion and rejection of knowledge.

I think it intensifies what is already going on. Even prior to AI, there was an increasing suspicion of expertise. We are in the midst of (what DanZ once called) a "crisis of epistemology," and the lazy and careless use of AI is contributing to that. The mistakes in the MAHA report were the result of laziness and using AI as a crutch without interrogating its output more closely.

There are ethical and constructive ways to use AI. This isn't one of them.

[Ken]

The mistakes in the MAHA report were the result of laziness and using AI as a crutch without interrogating its output more closely.

There are ethical and constructive ways to use AI. This isn't one of them.

It is worse than that I think.

The mistakes in the MAHA report were not just the result of laziness. They were the result of preparing a report with a pre-conceived conclusion or result in mind and and then faking up results to support it. RFK Jr. came into office with many pre-conceived and unsupported conclusions about health already cemented in his mind.

He is not a scientist nor is he any sort of health care professional like a doctor. Nor does he have any training in science. He is an attorney who has spent the past several decades attacking science. This is the result.

[JohnL]

People haven’t realized they need to fack check AI when you let it write your reports for them.

I wonder if this type of thing will be the most damaging effect of AI, the contamination of knowledge leading to a suspicion and rejection of knowledge.

I can definitely see that happening. I can see it already in the rejection of information on the internet. Who fact-checks the fact-checkers? Who watches the Watchers?

[R7ehr]

People haven’t realized they need to fack check AI when you let it write your reports for them.

I wonder if this type of thing will be the most damaging effect of AI, the contamination of knowledge leading to a suspicion and rejection of knowledge.

I can definitely see that happening. I can see it already in the rejection of information on the internet. Who fact-checks the fact-checkers? Who watches the Watchers?

And who watches the weight watchers weigh?

[JohnL]

I wonder if this type of thing will be the most damaging effect of AI, the contamination of knowledge leading to a suspicion and rejection of knowledge.

I can definitely see that happening. I can see it already in the rejection of information on the internet. Who fact-checks the fact-checkers? Who watches the Watchers?

And who watches the weight watchers weigh?

[JohnH]

The mistakes in the MAHA report were not just the result of laziness. They were the result of preparing a report with a pre-conceived conclusion or result in mind and and then faking up results to support it.

Whoa. Has that ever happened in academia before?

[Ken]

The mistakes in the MAHA report were not just the result of laziness. They were the result of preparing a report with a pre-conceived conclusion or result in mind and and then faking up results to support it.

Whoa. Has that ever happened in academia before?

And when it happens in academia, people lose tenure and get fired. Which, if you look up at the heading to this thread is actually what this thread is about.

We will see if this administration holds itself to the same standard. I'm not holding my breath.

[JohnH]

The mistakes in the MAHA report were not just the result of laziness. They were the result of preparing a report with a pre-conceived conclusion or result in mind and and then faking up results to support it.

Whoa. Has that ever happened in academia before?

And when it happens in academia, people lose tenure and get fired. Which, if you look up at the heading to this thread is actually what this thread is about.

We will see if this administration holds itself to the same standard. I'm not holding my breath.

When people do research in academia hoping to find certain conclusions… they get fired for doing so?

[Ken]

Whoa. Has that ever happened in academia before?

And when it happens in academia, people lose tenure and get fired. Which, if you look up at the heading to this thread is actually what this thread is about.

We will see if this administration holds itself to the same standard. I'm not holding my breath.

When people do research in academia hoping to find certain conclusions… they get fired for doing so?

If they falsify evidence, yes. That is what this thread was about. And what RFK Jr. did with the MAGA report that went out under his (and Trump's) name. They falsified 37 different citations to support their assertions. They literally invented fake studies out of thin air.