UC伯克利数学教授Tony Feng近日指出，随着AI生成工具的普及，学生已能够轻松制作出符合标准的博士论文，传统学术培养体系的基础因此受到根本性冲击。[1]Feng表示"突然之间，按一个按钮就能生成一篇可接受的博士论文"[1]，并通过数据对比论证了这一变化的规模。美国授予的博士学位数量从1990年的约36,000人增长至2024年的超过58,000人[1]，而中国的博士授予数量更是从1990年代初的数千人激增至今日的约88,000人/年[1]。
Feng在文章中描述了AI对学术诚信的隐性影响。他观察到一位同事对某位年轻学生的文献综述表示赞赏，称其涵盖范围广泛，但这位同事声称反对使用ChatGPT，而该文献实际可能由AI生成[1]。基于这些现象，Feng认为学者需要快速适应这一变化而非抗拒它，并得出结论称"现代学术的根基已经被彻底动摇"[1]。
Tony Feng, a mathematics professor at UC Berkeley, has argued that artificial intelligence generation tools have fundamentally destabilized the traditional academic training system by enabling students to produce doctoral theses of publishable quality with minimal effort.[1] "Suddenly you can produce a passable Ph.D. thesis with the push of a button," Feng stated, highlighting the unprecedented ease with which AI can now generate academic work.[1]
The scale of doctoral degree production has expanded dramatically in recent decades. The number of Ph.D. degrees awarded in the United States grew from approximately 36,000 in 1990 to over 58,000 in 2024.[1] China's doctoral pipeline has experienced even more explosive growth, surging from thousands per year in the early 1990s to approximately 88,000 annually today.[1]
Feng observed that colleagues have praised students for conducting expansive literature reviews, even as these same colleagues publicly oppose ChatGPT—yet the referenced literature may itself have been generated by AI systems.[1] Arguing that "the very foundation of modern academia has been blown to bits," Feng contends that scholars must adapt to this transformation rather than resist it.[1]