A University of Hong Kong (HKU) professor has stepped down from his position as associate dean after a paper that listed him as a corresponding author was found to contain non-existent references generated by artificial intelligence (AI). The scholar also withdrew his membership from the faculty’s research committees, the university said. He remains director of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention at HKU.

According to Springer Nature, the publishing company of the academic journal China Population and Development Studies, it launched an investigation on November 15, 2025 after concerns about the reference accuracy in the article were raised. The paper was officially retracted by the journal’s editor-in-chief on December 15, 2025. “Upon further investigation, the Publisher was unable to verify the source of at least 24 references. The authors admitted the use of AI tools without declaration,” Springer Nature said in a statement.

Source https://hongkongfp.com/2025/12/18/university-of-hong-kong-professor-steps-down-from-associate-deanship-after-ai-generated-references-scandal/

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