AKP Phnom Penh, February 02, 2025 — Artificial Intelligence is, of course, a tool of both the present and the future. Many have embraced AI, it’s trending. However, for individuals with inspirational and intellectual deficiency like Mr. Sam Rainsy, AI is too good tool to be immoderately used. In his recent article published by online news The Geopolitics (https://thegeopolitics.com/the-need-to-reform-cambodian-agriculture-based-on-neighboring-countries-experiences-and-achievements/) Sam Rainsy pretends to be the expert on Cambodian agriculture. While the article may read smoothly and might even fool some News editors, both the style and the idea are definitely not his own. It’s simply plagiarism of AI generated content 

As per Quillbot, a powerful AI detection tool, a significant portion, specifically 84%, of Sam Rainsy article titled "The Need to Reform Cambodian Agriculture Based on Neighboring Countries' Experiences and Achievements" was generated by AI. This revelation significantly discredits his intellect and project the spotlight on the credibility of the man pretending to be an expert in the field he knows the least, if there is any fieldhe has ever excelled in, it is demagogy. 

Content generated by AI does not possess genuine expertise.

There is nothing wrong in using AI, should it be just as for basic information. But at the rate of 84% AI content detected, it iseven unacceptable for highschooler homework. Mr. Sam Rainsy didn’t even bother to change the style and the structure of the essay AI generated as it was too convenient. Rainsy believes he can write an agricultural policy of a country with AI, without profound comprehension of the country’s agroecology, soil data, land used data and Cambodian farmers’ mentality. Rainsy doesn’t even bother with doing research on agri-trade, dynamic of the region’s economics and the world with proper data to fitin his essay on agriculture. A shameless AI plagiarism shouldn’t have a space in a publication nor should it ever have passed the subeditor news room. Rainsy believes he can fool readers with AI but he forgot to ask AI what are the consequences of using AI for policy making. He doesn’t seem to realize that AI generated content can be detected and he doesn’t even understand that AI generated content follows a generic patternand repetitive structure that is easy to spot, even without using AI detector. 

Had Rainsy been smart enough to properly use AI, he would have known the risk of being exposed and losing the very least credibility if he ever has one. With the above article Sam Rainsy just confirmed to whoever read it that he’s just a fraud and as dishonest as he used to be known in Cambodia.

Rainsy opts for partisan criticism instead of genuine solutions

After wasting time reading the 84% AI generated essay on Cambodian agriculture plagiarized by Sam Rainsy, the remaining 16% are just baseless criticism of Cambodia’sleadership on agriculture. Like always, Rainsy has poor knowledge on Cambodia’s economy. His narrative is based on old book from the 60s and still claim that farmers are the backbone of the country’s economy, depspite agriculture contributing only 16% to Cambodia’s GDP, using 2014 as the base year. And yet with this 16% of GDP, Cambodia’s agriculture productivity has skyrocketed from a used-to-be-famine-country to a robust food-secured-country that navigated Covid-19 and El Niño crisis without experiencing food shortage nor significant inflation. Cambodia ranks among the world’s top 10 rice exporters. Rainsy opportunistically exploits low price of exported agriculture product to criticize the Government, when he used to campaign with foreign countries to put sanction on Cambodia, including tariff on agricultural products with the aim to pressure the Government to be “on the path of democracy”. For reference, in 2019, Rainsy was in favor of EU’s suspension of EBA to Cambodia to create an economic crisis that would lead to the collapse of the Cambodian Government.

For Rainsy, anything that could make Cambodia people sufferand incite uprisings against Cambodian Government is good for him. For someone who used to call for sanction against Cambodia, he does not care about Cambodian farmers, but instead uses them as his political tools. The primary focus of his article appears to portray the government as inactive, incompetent while disregarding – or rather ignoring, the ongoing initiatives aimed at enhancing Cambodia's agricultural sector.

Ironically, in the remaining 16% non AI generated, Rainsy contradicts himself again when he opts for strong state interventionism by advocating minimum price guarantees measure. This just prove his ignorance of Cambodia’s agricultural outputs volume and the government’s available resource. In 2024 alone, the volume of Cambodia agricultural export was worth more than USD 6 billion, not including domestic consumption at free-market price. With his demagogy and populist measure, Sam Rainsy would bankrupt the country in less than a year.

The editorial standards 

In the old days, newsroom tradition upheld dear integrity and professionalism. The columnist, editorial or letter to editor were rather selective in quality of its content and author were meticulously inspected in term of credibility. Rubbish was rarely be published, anytime a plagiarism was busted, its was a scandal not only for the publication but also for the so-called author. In these days of digital era, plagiarism is easy and fast detected. The emergence of AI comes with its lots of AI generator content detector. Every newsroom should be much more careful about publishing opinion pieces. With such overwhelming evidence of AI plagiarism, contents written by Sam Rainsy should be met with more caution. We know plagiarism is already a disgrace, leave alone the plagiarism from AI generated content. It is a shame to publish AI generated content with the disclamer : “the views an opinion expressed in this article are those of the author.” when the so called author was 84% AI. 

When media platforms allow content generated by AI, they jeopardize their professionalism and risk becoming instrumentsof misinformation. Editors must diligently verify the accuracy of submissions and ensure that authors present thoroughly researched and independently supported arguments rather than automated, politically driven embellishments.

At the end, newsroom editors should remember the embarrassment made by Sam Rainsy in his Op-Ed full of AI generated content, one that lacks originality, sincerity, and depth of understanding. He has opted to utilize content produced by machines to advance his political objectives rather than providing thoroughly researched, data-supported solutions. This revelation shall diminish the credibility of this piece, along with all of his past and forthcoming criticisms.

By Im Rachna and Khim Finan, spokesperson and Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries