Catherine Gracey
Open Scholarship and Applied Sciences Librarian at the University of New Brunswick
Trends in AI and Academic Publishing
Catherine Gracey, Open Scholarship & Copyright Librarian
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative AI (GenAI) are often used interchangably
A note on language
- In this context, I'm talking about GenAI, unless I specify otherwise
[a]
Setting the Scene
The hype begins...
[a]
AI as "Author"
- Accountability
- Reliability
- Credit for humans
- Copyright?*
[a]
[b]
What you need to know as a researcher...
Artificial Intelligence
Academic Integrity
Generally...
[a]
- GenAI can't be listed as an author
- GenAI should not be cited as an information source (cite the original source)
- GenAI use should be acknowledged in a statement
- (Public) GenAI should not be used for peer-review (major! privacy issues)
– Conrad Anker
– Conrad Anker
- Check the policies of target journals well ahead of time, and check in regularly
- Document AI use, keep records of your prompts, outputs, track changes, etc.
- Ensure you're making meaningful contributions & changes to avoid tortured phrases, etc.
So, what should you do?
ChatGPT
ScopusAI
At the same time, publishers are embracing GenAI
[a]
[b]
Publishers are selling your work to AI Companies
If publishers hold exclusive rights to your work, they have the authority to license it for various uses, including AI training, and financially benefit from these deals.
– Dede Dawson, 2024
Review Publishing/Copyright Agreements
-
Publishers can do this because authors have signed away the exclusive rights to their work in many cases
-
Authors did not explicitly consent to the sale of their work to AI companies, but had signed their rights away
-
There is very limited (or no) ability to opt out as authors
What you need to know as a consumer of research...
Alleged AI Generated Papers
[a]
[b]
Tortured Phrases
[a]
Best practices for screening the literature
Use tools that can search ACADEMIC sources & provide sources
Otherwise you might be trusting a Reddit user
1
Look for original sources
Make sure the original source says what the GenAI output is saying (have hallucinations or misrepresentations occurred?)
2
Verify claims
3
Use tools like Retraction Watch & PubPeer to engage
Final Considerations
- AI-generated content can't be copyrighted
- You may accidentally infringe on someone's copyright by imputing their work into GenAI tools
Copyright
Privacy
- User data and content are stored/used by many GenAI tools, so should not be used for confidential purposes (i.e. peer review, meetings)
Resources
Connect with me:
catherine.gracey@unb.ca
Special shoutout to PubPeer and Retraction Watch!!
Thank You!
AI Trends and Academic Publishing
By Catherine Gracey
