AI is fabricating citations in biomedical studies, researchers find
"Your doctor could be making decisions around treatment based on studies that never existed," one expert said.
Updated on: May 13, 2026 / 5:09 PM EDT / CBS News
Artificial intelligence is fabricating references to medical research that does not exist, according to recent findings.
A recent audit found that, among millions of biomedical papers, more than 4,000 contained citations to non-existent research, according to an article in The Lancet. Such fabricated citations can undermine the clinical guidelines that health care professionals rely on to provide care, said Maxim Topaz, an associate professor at the Columbia School of Nursing and the study's lead author.
An audit of millions of biomedical papers found more than 4,000 citations to bogus studies, the researchers said in a recent article published in The Lancet.
Fabricated citations are dangerous because they influence clinical guidelines, which are based on public research that health care professionals follow in providing care, Maxim Topaz, an associate professor at the Columbia School of Nursing and the study's lead author, told CBS News.