AI Boosts Research Productivity, But Threatens PhD Apprenticeship Model

• Academics increasingly use AI tools like ChatGPT for research, with mathematician Terence Tao using it as a collaborator.
• Author's project: Generative AI helped complete a year's research work in just six weeks, boosting productivity.
• Warning: AI replacing PhD students sacrifices their critical learning and development as future research leaders.
• PhD is an apprenticeship for developing essential research skills like hypothesis testing, critical thinking, and scientific responsibility.
• AI is poorly equipped to foster the nuanced skills and intellectual responsibility crucial for good researchers.