Using artificial intelligence to generate academic citations can lead to fabricated references, undermining research credibility, according to TechPinas. The publication warns that students increasingly rely on AI chatbots to produce bibliographies, only to discover that cited papers do not exist.
Large language models are not connected to live academic databases, explains the report. Instead of retrieving real articles, they predict plausible sequences of words, often inventing titles, authors, and journal names. This misunderstanding of how AI works has led to a rise in questionable references in student papers.
To maintain academic integrity, the article recommends using AI only for brainstorming, outlining, and research direction. For actual citations, students should rely on verified scholarly databases, citation managers, and careful source verification. Crafting prompts that focus on keywords and conceptual explanations, rather than requesting direct references, is a safer approach.