Since the start of 2026, Nicholas Polson, a statistician at the University of Chicago, has posted over 200 preprints—unreviewed research papers—online, raising concerns among his peers. This unusual output has sparked discussions about the role of generative AI in academic research. Generative AI, which can create text, images, or other content, has become increasingly popular among researchers, helping them draft papers, analyze data, or generate ideas. However, the sheer volume of Polson’s work has drawn attention, especially since most researchers publish only a few articles per year. Auyon Siddiq, an economist at UCLA, noted on social media in mid-August that Polson’s Google Scholar profile listed over 200 articles since the beginning of the year. Most of these papers were posted on SSRN, a preprint platform that allows researchers to share their work before it undergoes formal peer review. SSRN was founded in 1994 and later acquired by the publishing company Elsevier. According to Jeremy Horpedahl, an economist at the University of Central Arkansas, Polson had already written 258 working papers by August 2026, with six of them published. During August alone, he posted 104 papers on SSRN, a rate far exceeding that of most scholars. Michael Makowsky, an economist at Clemson University, suggested that while some of Polson’s content might be AI-generated, it could still offer value. However, it remains unclear whether the content was thoroughly reviewed or analyzed by Polson himself. When questioned by The Washington Post, Polson admitted to using generative AI to boost his productivity, stating that AI helps with repetitive tasks. He also suggested that criticism of his work might be driven by "jealousy and the desire to appropriate my method." In response to concerns raised by colleagues, recent articles by Polson are no longer accessible on SSRN. For example, the paper "Over-parameterization in Statistical Genomics," listed on his Google Scholar profile, now shows it is under evaluation or has been removed by the author, SSRN, or a rights holder. His SSRN profile also no longer lists articles posted after October 2018. While Polson’s papers did not explicitly mention AI use, SSRN stated that the main issue was the unusually high number of submissions. The platform also noted that Polson had ventured into areas outside his expertise, though most of the papers remained on the site. Auyon Siddiq emphasized that the concerns go beyond the quantity of work—colleagues are also questioning the diversity of topics and how they differ from Polson’s earlier research.