The Australian Research Council faces allegations that at least one of its peer reviewers has used a ChatGPT-like AI engine to generate assessments in the current round of grants under the Discovery Projects competition.
The Allegations were made by academics claiming that certain peer reviews of grant applications are being composed using ChatGPT.
The allegations were revealed on 30 June, via Twitter account @ARC_Tracker, which said that “several applicants say assessor reports are generic regurgitation of their apps”.
According to ARC_Tracker, certain research teams have received assessor reports that simply rehashed their initial applications, lacking in-depth analysis.
Notably, at least one report featured the phrase “regenerate response,” indicating its potential generation by ChatGPT or a similar AI system.
The Australian Research Council (ARC) has issued a cautionary notice to academics, informing them that utilising generative AI models to analyse their colleagues’ work might potentially violate confidentiality protocols.
A researcher, preferring to remain anonymous, discovered a potential utilisation of AI, such as the ChatGPT service in their assessor feedback. The inclusion of the phrase “regenerate response” at the end of the feedback raised suspicions regarding the involvement of AI.
The Discovery Projects grants stand as one of the Australian Research Council’s prominent programs, providing researchers with the opportunity to receive up to A$500,000 per year for a duration of five years. In 2023, a total of A$221 million was awarded through the program.
Following the public exposure of the allegations on social media, the council released a statement emphasising the importance of assessors maintaining confidentiality obligations.
