Autocomplete Earns Conference Speaking Slot

An associate professor at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand last week was surprised to find he had scored a speaking slot to present his paper during the International Conference on Atomic and Nuclear Physics. The professor, Christoph Bartneck, had written the paper, titled "Atomic Energy Will Have Been Available to a Single Source," almost entirely through the autocomplete function on his iPhone. The paper contains insights such as, "The atoms of a better universe will have the right for the same as you are the way we shall have to be a great place for a great time to enjoy the day you are a wonderful person to your great time to take the fun and take a great time and enjoy the great day you will be a wonderful time for your parents and kids."

"After adding the first illustration on nuclear physics from Wikipedia, some references and creating a fake identity (Iris Pear, a.k.a. Siri Apple) I submitted the paper, which was accepted only three hours later!" Bartneck wrote in a blog post. "I know that iOS is a pretty good software, but reaching tenure has never been this close."

The conference is hosted by ConferenceSeries, which is operated by OMICS Group, an open-access publisher. The company is currently being sued by the Federal Trade Commission for misleading researchers.