Ethics of AI in Academic Research

Sep 7, 2024

AI Revolution in Academia: Ethical Use and Principles

Introduction

  • AI is transforming academia and is here to stay.
  • Importance of using AI ethically to avoid issues like plagiarism.
  • Understanding ethical AI use is crucial for researchers and PhD students.

The Role of AI in Academia

  • AI tools can speed up manual tasks like literature reviews and detecting language mistakes.
  • AI is akin to tools like reference managers (e.g., Zotero, Mendeley) and word processors (e.g., Microsoft Word).
  • Universities and journals have varying policies on AI use.
    • Check guidelines to ensure AI use is permitted.

Principles of Ethical AI Use

  1. Improve Language and Readability
    • AI should be used as a proofreader/editor—not to write texts.
  2. Acknowledgment
    • Must acknowledge AI use in papers and detail its role.
  3. Human Supervision
    • AI outputs must be supervised and verified by humans.
  4. No Content Generation
    • AI should not generate figures, images, or draw conclusions.
  5. No Authorship for AI
    • AI cannot be credited as an author.

Practical Use Cases for AI

Brainstorming

  • AI can be used to generate ideas and facilitate discussions as a virtual colleague.
  • Example tool: Jenny AI
    • Capable of improving text fluency, paraphrasing, etc.

Improving Text Readability

  • AI can enhance text readability and fluency.
  • Example tool: Jenny AI offers features like text improvement and simplification.

Literature Review

  • AI assists in gathering key insights and summaries from papers.
  • Example tool: Scispace
    • Provides summaries with accurate references, sorts papers by relevance, and allows interaction with PDFs.

Data Analysis

  • AI can transcribe and translate qualitative data, suggesting themes and performing simple statistical tasks.
  • Example tool: Avid Note
    • Features AI transcription and code generation.

Miscellaneous Uses

  • AI can assist in lesson planning, suggesting interview/survey questions, and analyzing data.

Conclusion

  • Principles always surpass AI; AI serves as a tool to aid research and writing.
  • Avoid using AI to generate entire documents or conclusions.
  • Consider AI as a brainstorming partner to improve academic rigor.

Additional Resources

  • Opportunities for consultations to discuss academic goals and challenges.