Is it just me or is the Conference Lottery culture killing research? [D]

Reddit r/MachineLearning / 5/1/2026

💬 OpinionSignals & Early TrendsIdeas & Deep Analysis

Key Points

  • The author argues that treating major academic conferences like “weekend hackathons” undermines careful, high-quality research and adds extreme pressure to produce submissions quickly.
  • They say supervisors may prioritize the act of attempting submission over the likelihood of acceptance, effectively lowering the emphasis on outcomes and rigor.
  • The piece highlights how the resulting “conference lottery” culture contributes to the very high volume of submissions at top-tier conferences.
  • Overall, the author expresses burnout and frustration, suggesting the current submission incentives are damaging to researchers’ motivation and work quality.

I need to vent before I completely burn out. My supervisor has started treating major conferences like weekend hackathons, and I'm losing my mind. We are told to come up with something to submit roughly two weeks before the deadline, and he doesn't even care if it gets rejected. Apparently, the experience of trying is the goal.

It's no wonder top-tier conferences receive tens of thousands of submissions. and I hate my life.

submitted by /u/SillyNeuron
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