Want to ETHICALLY use AI for your thesis, papers, or lit reviews?

The video emphasizes the importance of transparency, avoiding manipulation, and proper authorship attribution when using AI in academic work to maintain integrity and credibility. It advises researchers to disclose AI use, ensure data authenticity, and recognize that AI cannot be credited as an author, promoting responsible and ethical integration of AI tools in research.

The video discusses ethical guidelines for using AI in academic work such as theses, papers, and literature reviews. It emphasizes the importance of transparency and integrity when incorporating AI tools into research processes. The primary goal is to ensure that AI use does not compromise the honesty and credibility of scholarly work, while also respecting established academic standards.

The first key point is disclosure. Researchers are encouraged to openly acknowledge when and how they have used AI tools in their work. This disclosure can be included in sections like acknowledgments or methods, making it clear to readers and reviewers that AI contributed to the research or writing process. Such transparency helps maintain trust and allows others to evaluate the role of AI in the research.

The second guideline focuses on avoiding manipulation. Researchers should not use AI to create, alter, or manipulate original data or results. This means AI should not be employed to falsify findings or misrepresent research outcomes. The emphasis is on using AI ethically as a tool for assistance rather than as a means to deceive or distort the scientific record.

The third point addresses authorship and AI’s role in authorship attribution. The consensus, as noted by sources like Nature, is that large language models such as ChatGPT do not meet the criteria for authorship. Therefore, AI cannot be credited as an author of a paper. This maintains the integrity of authorship by ensuring that only human researchers are recognized as responsible for the content.

Overall, the video provides clear, straightforward principles for ethically integrating AI into academic work. By disclosing AI use, avoiding data manipulation, and not assigning authorship to AI, researchers can uphold ethical standards while benefiting from AI tools. These guidelines aim to foster responsible AI use that supports, rather than undermines, scholarly integrity.