Should Academics Worry About ChatGPT Writing Articles?

In today's world, the internet has opened up many avenues for people to express their thoughts and opinions. One such avenue is Generative Pre-trained Transformer (ChatGPT), a platform where individuals can write their articles for publication. This has led to a debate among academics about whether they should consider ChatGPT a credible platform for publishing their work. This article explores the pros and cons of publishing on ChatGPT and examines whether academics should worry about the impact on their reputation.

In today's world, the internet has opened up many avenues for people to express their thoughts and opinions. One such avenue is Generative Pre-trained Transformer (ChatGPT), a platform where individuals can write their articles for publication. This has led to a debate among academics about whether they should consider ChatGPT a credible platform for publishing their work. This article explores the pros and cons of publishing on ChatGPT and examines whether academics should worry about the impact on their reputation.

Foremost, it is important to recognize that academic writing is intended to be original work that reflects a person’s knowledge, creativity, and individuality. The use of Artificial intelligence (AI) writing tools raises the question of whether the writer has truly demonstrated his or her academic capabilities or if they are merely relying on machine-generated content. This devalues the idea of originality, which has been a crucial aspect of academia for centuries. It is imperative that the use of AI writing tools does not become a shortcut or substitute for the intellectual rigour and creativity required by researchers and scholars. Using AI writing tools may pose ethical concerns, primarily related to plagiarism issues. Artificially generated content has the potential to plagiarize another person’s original work, jeopardizing academic integrity. It is likely that the AI writing tool would try to mimic existing texts to create content, which could lead to cases of accidental plagiarism. Moreover, without proper citation, the writer may be liable for copyright infringement, even if unintentional. Furthermore, academic institutions place high value in acknowledging and attributing sources and ideas, such as when writers and scholars are expected to acknowledge the scholarship of their colleagues in their work. Using AI writing tools potentially weakens this practice and further jeopardizes academic honesty (Archibald & Clark, 2023).

Nowadays, academics are starting to worry about this system's implications, particularly in the writing part. ChatGPT can generate articles, summaries, and even academic papers of a high standard, which creates concerns that if it can produce substantial work as academics, then what is the significance of the work produced by scholars? Although the instant outputs from ChatGPT are improving, it is still incapable of identifying the difference between good and mediocre writing. Writing involves an analysis of new data, understanding the connections between different topics, and monitoring the quality of opposing arguments. ChatGPT may be able to convey a great deal of content, but it is not yet equipped to do these higher-level activities like humans (Ma et al., 2023).

Furthermore, ChatGPT cannot form original ideas and evaluate content within a particular field. Its output is only as beneficial as the data it has been trained on, and although it can produce accurate and relevant outputs, the content's originality and quality are questionable. As a result, academics need not worry about ChatGPT concerning the quality of their work. ChatGPT is an excellent tool for avoiding repetitive tasks, providing convenient and efficient answers to common questions, and performing tasks that do not require human input. Academics should not be afraid of their work being replaced by ChatGPT as the technology is still in its early stages and not perfect for creating academic content at this point. On the contrary, academics should embrace this technology to improve communication between technology and humans (Kumar et al., 2023).

One of the most significant impacts of AI writing on academia is the potential loss of jobs for academic writers. There is no doubt that AI algorithms are becoming more and more competent in producing high-quality content, which raises the question of whether human writers will become obsolete. However, it is important to note that AI writing cannot yet replace the creativity and critical thinking that human writers bring to the table. Academics who are able to provide original insights and ideas will always be in demand. Another area of concern is the ethical implications of AI writing for academia. Many algorithms have been trained on vast amounts of data, some of which may have been obtained unethically or without proper consent. As a result, there is a risk that AI writing could perpetuate existing inequalities or biases, which could have a negative impact on scholarship and research. Despite these concerns, AI writing has some potential benefits for academia. For one, it could help to make academic content more accessible to a wider audience. The language used in academia can be dense and impenetrable to those without specialist knowledge, meaning that the general public can overlook important ideas. By contrast, AI algorithms can produce clear and concise content, making it more accessible to non-specialists. ChatGPT helps academics write more efficiently by streamlining the writing process, but it is not a career-ending threat to their profession. ChatGPT offers an efficient way to write but lacks the creativity, critical thinking, and expertise required by academics (Salvagno et al., 2023).

One of the advantages of ChatGPT is that it provides instant content for academics to work with, which saves time by eliminating the need to research material, gather data, or conduct interviews. However, the output may sometimes lack the depth of context that human-written articles provide. ChatGPT can only provide what it has learned from its vast database, and although it can be programmed to learn from a specific field, it cannot replace human expertise. Additionally, writing articles has always been an integral part of an academic's role, and with ChatGPT, it becomes easier for academics to manage that workload. It can produce articles faster, allowing them to focus on other academic contributions, such as teaching or research. However, academics should not depend solely on ChatGPT to do their writing, as they risk missing essential details and nuances when it comes to producing work reflecting current research and literature (Alkhaqani, 2023c).

Moreover, suppose ChatGPT is used to minimize the amount of thought put into an article. In that case, the final product will likely lack nuance and depth, making it of lower quality compared to articles written by an academic. Suppose an academic find themselves repeatedly using ChatGPT to generate articles. In that case, it's crucial that they reflect on their approach to writing and try to improve the skills needed to do it properly. On the one hand, ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionize academic writing. The tool can generate large amounts of text quickly and even learn to imitate the style and tone of individual authors. This could be incredibly useful for scholars who need to produce a lot of written work quickly or want to explore new topics in their field without committing to a full research project. Additionally, AI language models like ChatGPT could help address issues of academic writing access and inequality by democratizing the production of high-quality writing for scholars who may not have access to traditional resources (Wingard, 2023).

On the other hand, there are concerns about the quality of articles produced by ChatGPT. While the tool can certainly generate coherent sentences and paragraphs, it may not always produce work that meets the rigorous standards of scholarly research. There is a risk that ChatGPT-generated articles could lack originality, methodological rigour, or sound research design and that they could be seen as less credible than work produced by human authors. Academics also worry that using AI language models could create a divide in publishing, where those who can afford the technology will produce the most sophisticated writing, while those who do not have the money or resources will fall behind (Alkhaqani, 2023a).

The future of AI writing tools is promising. One of the most striking features of these tools is their ability to learn and grow. As the tools continue to be used, they learn more about the various writing styles and structures commonly used in academia. As such, they become even more efficient in assisting with writing tasks. Additionally, AI writing tools are designed to predict grammar and spelling errors, detect plagiarism, and provide suggestions on improving an academic document's quality. However, it is reasonable to wonder whether academics should be concerned about these developments. While AI writing tools can significantly reduce the time spent on academic writing projects, it is essential to note that they should not be used as a substitute for genuine writing skills. Many academics are already concerned that AI writing tools may lead to the rise of plagiarism, as students may rely solely on these tools instead of engaging in critical thinking or genuine writing (Aswin et al., 2022).

Moreover, academics are concerned about the potential ethical implications of AI writing tools. The need for transparency and accountability remains a significant concern, and the academic community and regulatory bodies should ensure that these tools do not compromise academic standards. There is certainly a need for ethical guidelines to guide the development and application of these tools in research and other academic settings. Academic writing traditionally requires a high level of intellectual engagement, critical thinking, and collaboration, which machines can't replicate. Moreover, the writing style and presentation of ideas in academic writing are unique to each researcher; therefore, technology cannot match that level of authenticity. Chatbots lack the analytical and research skills that are necessary for academic writing, which could lead to a decrease in the quality of research and its outcomes (Graham, 2022).

Furthermore, writing is not just about putting words together; it requires understanding the research's context and aims. It is crucial to critically evaluate the data and information collected in academic research and the nuances of the human language that help illustrate the study's findings. While writing with the help of a chatbot could save time and effort, it could lead to a loss of nuance and authenticity that entails human writing. Therefore, academics must preserve authenticity in their research writing. Moreover, academic institutions focus on encouraging and developing students' writing abilities, and incorporating technology in the writing process could ultimately hinder their development. It could create a generation of research writers who don't understand what it takes to write good academic content. Instead, students should be encouraged to embrace the writing process and learn the essential skills necessary for writing (Alkhaqani, 2023b).

In conclusion, ChatGPT may offer a convenient and efficient way for academics to produce articles or research papers. However, it is important to be aware of the limitations of the AI program, such as potential inaccuracies and plagiarism concerns. Thus, while ChatGPT may be a valuable tool for generating ideas or inspiration, it should be used cautiously and supplemented with human expertise and critical thinking. Ultimately, academics should embrace innovation and technology but never forget the importance of academic integrity and intellectual rigour. While there is no doubt that ChatGPT has revolutionized AI technology, there are various reasons why academics should not worry about it replacing human writing entirely. For example, the technology still requires careful monitoring to ensure the content is accurate, informative, and appropriate for the intended audience. While ChatGPT can generate an article within minutes, human intervention is still required to proofread and edit the content.

Author’s contributions

The author contributed to the article's conception, drafted the manuscript, critically analyzed the manuscript, and provided valuable feedback. He contributed towards the acquisition of data, approved the final version of the manuscript, and agreed to be responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the study to meet at least one of the following criteria (recommended by the ICMJE*)

Funding: No specific grants were received from government, commercial, or non-profit funds.

Conflicts of interest: No potential conflict of interest has been declared by the author.

Consent for publication: The author grants publishers the right to publish and distribute this work. It is also original and has not been previously published.

Acknowledgements: This writing received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.