HPV Mandate Study Faces Peer-Review Hurdle, Raising AI-Era Worries

Semprini was excited about the research. The counterintuitive result is not completely surprising, he said, because mandating a vaccine can motivate some people to find ways to avoid it. He submitted the manuscript to a journal, where it was sent out for peer review. In that long-standing process, other researchers in the field assess the validity of research and recommend whether it should be published, usually anonymously and on a volunteer basis.

The reviewer did not share Semprini's excitement. The reviewer mistakenly thought Semprini was questioning whether the HPV vaccine itself prevents cervical cancer, rather than studying the effectiveness of a policy meant to increase vaccination rates. Semprini said there is a very big difference between those two questions.

Ars Technica's report is headlined 'Peer review is overwhelmed—can it survive in the AI era?'