Fearful of AI-generated grant proposals, NIH limits scientists to six applications per year
Scientists hoping to obtain some of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) dwindling research funds face a new challenge: They will be limited to submitting six applications per calendar year, according to a notice the agency released this week. The policy, which also prohibits applications written with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence, is ostensibly designed to prevent researchers from overwhelming the NIH grant-review system with large numbers of proposals, especially low-quality ones produced with AI. But some critics worry the cap—which applies to grant resubmissions, renewals, and revisions as well as original applications—will hurt scientists who are already struggling to obtain federal funding as NIH freezes and rescinds many grants for political reasons and President Donald Trump’s...