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🇦🇷 Argentina /Technology

Marcela Pagano Accuses Science Secretary Adriana Baravelle of Buying an AI Doctorate

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Argentine lawmaker Marcela Pagano questioned the Artificial Intelligence doctorate reportedly held by newly appointed Science Secretary Adriana Baravelle.
  • Pagano said American Andragogy University offered the degree for $400 and could issue it within days, and she displayed a certificate she said she received through the same course.
  • The government identified Baravelle as a master’s degree holder in its appointment announcement, while the alleged foreign doctorate does not appear in her current official profiles.

Marcela Pagano said she could become a doctor in Artificial Intelligence for $400 and eight working days, using the same university associated with Argentina’s new science secretary. The national lawmaker used the claim to challenge the academic credentials of Adriana Baravelle, recently appointed secretary of Innovation, Science and Technology.

Pagano said American Andragogy University, based in Hawaii, was not properly recognized in the United States and sold what she called fraudulent degrees. She said a man connected with the institution told her that validation took one week and becoming a doctor took another. The regular price, according to the voice message she presented, was $5,000, but a promotion for Latin American students reduced it to $400.

American Andragogy University is a sham and sells a sham doctorate. For the modest sum of $400 and in just ten days, I am also a doctor.

· Marcela PaganoThe Argentine lawmaker attacked the university’s doctorate program.

Pagano displayed a doctorate certificate she said the university gave her after completing the same course. “The secretary of Science bought her AI doctorate without studying and graduated in eight working days,” she wrote on X, adding that the evidence had already been submitted to the courts.

The secretary of Science bought her AI doctorate without studying and graduated in eight working days.

· Marcela PaganoPagano summarized her accusation in a post on X.

Baravelle’s appointment was announced by the government on Aug. 13, when she replaced Darío Genua. The official decree described her as a master’s degree holder. The government said she holds a master’s degree in Data Mining and Knowledge Management from Universidad Austral and is a systems analyst trained at the National Defense University.

A doctorate in AI from American Andragogy University had also been reported, but it does not currently appear on Baravelle’s LinkedIn profile or in official information. La Nación reported that the foreign degree would not have formal recognition in Argentina because recognition requires an equivalent program at a national university. That, the report said, explains why the government presented her as a master’s degree holder. Pagano said she made her allegations publicly in a video and argued that Baravelle’s appointment had been presented partly on the strength of the doctorate.

I did not take an exam, write a thesis or do anything at all.

· Marcela PaganoShe described how she said she obtained a certificate through the university’s course.
About this summary

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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