Chaoqun Ni | Search arXiv

arXiv2026

AI-Assisted Writing Is Growing Fastest Among Less Established Scientists in Non-English-Speaking Countries

The recent emergence of AI-assisted writing raises an important question: how is this new technology being adopted across the scientific community, and how does adoption vary across linguistic and professional contexts? We analyze over two million full-text biomedical publications from PubMed Central from 2021 to 2024 using a distribution-based framework to estimate AI-generated content. We found that, in biomedical publications, AI-generated content increased substantially after ChatGPT, with larger increases in publications from countries with lower English proficiency. Increases were also greater among scientists with fewer publications and citations, those at earlier career stages, and those at lower-ranked institutions. Prior AI research experience was associated with greater increases in AI-assisted writing, which were also modestly associated with greater increases in publication productivity. These findings show that AI-assisted writing is growing fastest among biomedical scientists who may have historically faced barriers, a pattern with potentially positive implications for equity in science.

cs.DL↗

arXiv2026

Advisor career stage and PhD advisee outcomes

PhD advisors are central to doctoral training, but their influence may vary across career stages. Early-, mid-, and late-career advisors may differ in research activity, mentoring capacity, professional networks and access to resources. However, little is known about how PhD advisor career stage is associated with PhD student development outcomes. Drawing on multiple large-scale datasets comprising 250,838 advisor-advisee pairs from 312 U.S. PhD-granting institutions, we examine the relationship between advisor career stage and PhD advisee outcomes in knowledge production, collaboration networks and academic career placement. We find that early-career PhD advisors are associated with advisees' higher research productivity and citation performance, more opportunities to engage in direct and intensive research collaboration, and greater likelihood of securing a faculty position. Mid- and late-career faculty, by contrast, appear to have advantages in providing network capital which students can inherit after graduation, training PhD advisees to produce disruptive research, and supporting them in securing faculty positions at top institutions. This study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the reproduction of scientific talent by revealing the role of advisor career stage in shaping this process. These findings have implications for doctoral applicants' decision-making and for institutional policymaking on PhD training, faculty support and faculty evaluation.

cs.CY↗