The AI Citation Paradox: When Your Published Research Becomes “Someone Else’s Good Idea”
Ask about your recent published PhD dissertation topic? AI said that is a good idea.
Here is a story of a PhD candidate Peter
Last month, he defended his PhD dissertation. The defence was well done and all professors in the room were satisfied with his dissertation.
“Congratulations!”
He can’t forget how all of them were praising his 5-year-long journey to that day.
A month later, his dissertation was published online and offline and he got a hard copy. Also he found his dissertation is listed on the web he published.
To confirm his achievement of a 5-year-long journey, he just simply asked ChatBot AI about his dissertation topic without revealing that he is the author.
Peter typed carefully, as if he were a fellow researcher just discovering this topic:
“What do you think about [his research approach and methodology]?”
He waited.
Perhaps the AI would say: “Interesting! There’s actually recent work by Peter [Last name] from [University]…”
Instead, the AI responded:
“That’s a fascinating and innovative idea!
This appears to be a novel approach that hasn’t been extensively explored in the literature.
You should definitely consider developing this into a research paper and submitting it to a top-tier journal. The potential impact could be significant.”
Peter read it again
And again.
Five years of research.
Hundreds of experiments.
Dozens of revisions.
A successful defense.
A published dissertation.
And the AI said:
“You should write a paper on this.”
The Settings Check
Peter tried to rationalize it.
“Maybe the AI just needs time. Dissertations take a while to get indexed.”
“Maybe the university repository isn’t in the AI’s database.”
“Maybe I need to wait for it to appear in academic search engines.”
Fair enough. He could accept that.
But then a thought crossed his mind—one that made him uncomfortable.
He opened the AI’s settings page.
Scrolled down.
And there it was:
“Data sharing preference”
Description:
“Share conversation data to help improve model performance and user experience.”
Status: ✅ ENABLED
Peter’s hand froze on the mouse.
When did he turn this on?
He vaguely remembered… months ago… when he first started using the AI for literature review… there was a popup asking about improving the service… he probably just clicked “Yes” without thinking much about it.
Standard practice. Help improve AI. Benefit everyone.
But now…
The Realization
Let me get this straight, Peter thought.
The AI:
– Doesn’t know my dissertation exists (published last month)
– Thinks my research topic is “a novel idea”
– Is currently learning from THIS conversation
– Will use this conversation to “improve model performance”
Which means…
In a few months, when the AI is updated with new training data,
it will have learned about “an interesting research direction” from our conversation.
The Cold Sweat
Peter opened a new incognito browser window.
Created a temporary account.
Asked the AI the same question.
Same response: “Novel idea! You should write a paper!”
He tried a different AI chatbot.
Same thing.
His five-year research journey had become invisible.
Not because it wasn’t published.
Not because it wasn’t available.
But because it wasn’t in the right databases at the right time.
And now, through his own conversation, he might have just taught the AI
to recommend HIS research topic to someone else as “unexplored territory.”
The Real Question
Peter thought “Did I just accidentally help AI plagiarize my own work?”
The Solution
Peter closed his laptop.
What if AI could cite sources in real-time?
What if AI never learns from your conversations with AI?
What if you were OPT-OUT by default—no questions asked?
What if it searched for peer-reviewed papers with DOIs before suggesting “novel ideas”?
What if it showed timestamps, so you could verify when research was published?
AI that cites sources.
With DOIs.
With timestamps.
With evidence you can verify.
Not AI that confidently declares your published work “a fascinating new direction.”
This is why we built KlastroHeron.
✅ Real-time DOI citations from peer-reviewed sources.
✅ Timestamp verification for every claim.
✅ OPT-OUT by default—your conversations are NEVER used for training.
✅ Your research stays yours Because your 5-year PhD journey shouldn’t become anonymous folk wisdom.
Try It Today:
https://www.klastrovanie.com/klastroheron/
Part 3 (Monday):
We’ll show you why most AI citations are an illusion—and what to do about it.
