Is world progress at risk? Some claim that Chinese "paper mills" have made misinformation into a trade, threatening humanity's most sacred and historic goal: collecting new knowledge.
The tide of fake science gushing out of China
Is world progress at risk? Some claim that Chinese "paper mills" have made misinformation into a trade, threatening humanity's most sacred and historic goal: collecting new knowledge.
Decline and Fall
Thousands of academics are engaged in a surprising new business: searching through hundreds of thousands of papers looking for hints that they might be totally made up.
And though it might sound like a boring job, some say they are our last hope of protecting our age-old trade in knowledge.
The culprits? "Paper mills." These sinister new businesses make a profit from creating fake scientific findings and data.
They have been traced back mainly to China, Iran and Russia, and can be dangerous - especially as these fake findings often concern the medical sphere.
Fraudulent papers frequently feature digitally altered "findings" which can be sophisticated enough to be virtually undetectable.
Because of this, nobody really knows how much new scientific output is actually fraudulent. Experts estimate that it is between 2% and 20% of new published papers, and China is one of the worst offenders.
But China's contribution to global research is also increasing - in 2021, Chinese papers made up 23% of all international output - leading to concerns that we may be inundated with false information.1
It could not have come at a more tense moment. Some experts believe that China is set to corner the market in new science, with a recent report claiming that Beijing is ahead in developing a staggering 37 out of 44 categories of technology.2
Yet between the West and China, trust is reaching a dangerous low amid its computer chip "Cold War" with America, as well as allegations of intellectual theft and espionageSpying.. In 2022, FBIThe Federal Bureau of Investigation, which investigates crimes on a national level in the USA. director Christopher Wray described espionage from China as the "greatest long-term threat" to the US economy.
Many lamentShow passionate sadness. that it has got to this point. China, regarded as one of the cradles of civilisation, is responsible for some of humanity's earliest innovations, many of which were spread to the world alongside physical trade on the infamous Silk RoadA network of Eurasian trade routes linking China to the West, running from the second century BC to the 15th Century AD. .
From our earliest history we have benefited from its inventions, which included a sophisticated system of traditional medicine and inventions such as the sundial, abacusA simple tool used for calculating sums by sliding beads across a frame., gunpowder and paper. China has been a historic trailblazer of human progress - now, some say, it has become our most significant barrier.
Yes: This is clearly a strategy to inhibit other countries from developing technology to rival China's new inventions. Some fear it is a part of a plan to hold humanity back for China's own profit.
No: Many Western ideas about Chinese espionage and sabotageDeliberately ruin, destroy or obstruct something - especially to further your own ambitions. are completely overblown. We should not let paranoia over China's plans disrupt our rational thinking.
Or... World progress is about collaboration, and our failure to collaborate is a global problem that we are all responsible for. We have made progress into an economic competition rather than a collective and sacred historic goal.
Is world progress at risk?
Keywords
Espionage - Spying.
FBI - The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which investigates crimes on a national level in the USA.
Lament - Show passionate sadness.
Silk Road - A network of Eurasian trade routes linking China to the West, running from the second century BC to the 15th Century AD.
Abacus - A simple tool used for calculating sums by sliding beads across a frame.
Sabotage - Deliberately ruin, destroy or obstruct something - especially to further your own ambitions.
The tide of fake science gushing out of China
Glossary
Espionage - Spying.
FBI - The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which investigates crimes on a national level in the USA.
Lament - Show passionate sadness.
Silk Road - A network of Eurasian trade routes linking China to the West, running from the second century BC to the 15th Century AD.
Abacus - A simple tool used for calculating sums by sliding beads across a frame.
Sabotage - Deliberately ruin, destroy or obstruct something — especially to further your own ambitions.