The promise and pitfalls of generative AI for research

The implications of using generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools like the wildly popular ChatGPT for research was a hot topic of discussion at the recent annual meeting of the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington DC. The chatbot, launched by OpenAI less than five months ago, has already been listed as a co-author on several research papers.

In January, the Science  family of journals published by AAAS announced a complete ban on such text-generating algorithms, with editor-in-chief Holden Thorp  expressing significant concern about the potential effect these technologies could have on research. The fear is that fake research papers written partly or entirely by programs like ChatGPT will find their way into the scientific literature.