Released on November 23, 2023
Back to episode listThe podcast covers an article co-authored by Andrew Page, which examines the use of GPT-4 in research publications. The discussion focuses on the authorship of articles generated with GPT-4 and explores the implications for academic publishing.
Andrew Page discusses the complexities of authorship when AI-generated content is involved in research articles. He addresses the ethical implications and potential biases associated with AI-assisted writing. Concerns include the omission of minority figures and novel discoveries. Andrew emphasizes the importance of transparency in AI's use, highlighting its potential to democratize research as long as ethical guidelines are observed.
The podcast explores the current role of AI in academic publishing. The conversation touches on the commercial use of AI for crafting research manuscripts and the importance of differentiating between human and AI-generated contributions. Concerns are raised about the potential misalignment between GPT-4's commercial objectives and academic goals.
Andrew Page outlines several risks associated with AI in publishing, such as unintentional plagiarism, biases, and outdated methods. He references an example in bioinformatics where software might recommend deprecated methods, underscoring the need for caution. Additionally, the conversation notes AI's potential to unintentionally introduce bias, citing previous cases where AI models quickly adopted extremist views.
Andrew's co-authors, Niamh Tumelty and Sam Sheppard, contribute different viewpoints. Niamh, from the London School of Economics, focuses on ethical considerations. Sam, as the editor-in-chief of Microbial Genomics, highlights the necessity of adapting to AI's contributions in journal submissions.
The podcast emphasizes the importance of recognizing and addressing the ethical challenges posed by AI in academic publishing. It suggests that technology may evolve more rapidly than policies, necessitating an ongoing dialogue among researchers, publishers, and AI developers.