Research published in the journal Science identified a small group of "prolific debutante" authors who suddenly appeared in the top 5% of authors of letters to scientific journals between 2023–2025.[1] These newcomers—authors who have published 10 or more papers in their first year of publication—represent the fastest growing group.[1] An example is a doctor from Qatar who published no papers in 2024, but published more than 80 in 2025 in journals covering 58 different topics.[1] Letters are short, appear quickly without a review process, and do not require original data, which makes them attractive for inflating publication output.[1] Scientists suspect the use of artificial intelligence (AI) because the letters contain fabricated citations and the authors reported AI use – for example, the Qatari author declared it in only 13 of the 81 letters.[1] This trend is related to previous findings of an increased number of prolific authors of research articles likely due to AI.[1] Journals impose an obligation to report AI use, but authors often underestimate it.[1]