How much can we rely on artificial intelligence chatbots such as the ChatGPT software program to assist with scientific writing?

Abstract

Statement of ProblemUse of the ChatGPT software program by authors raises many questions, primarily regarding egregious issues such as plagiarism. Nevertheless, little is known about the extent to which artificial intelligence (AI) models can produce high-quality research publications and advance and shape the direction of a research topic. PurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine how well the ChatGPT software program, a writing tool powered by AI, could respond to questions about scientific or research writing and generate accurate references with academic examples. Material and methodsQuestions were made for the ChatGPT software program to locate an abstract containing a particular keyword in the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry (JPD). Then, whether the resulting articles existed or were published was determined. Questions were made for the algorithm 5 times to locate 5 JPD articles containing 2 specific keywords, bringing the total number of articles to 25. The process was repeated twice, each time with a different set of keywords, and the ChatGPT software program provided a total of 75 articles. The search was conducted at various times between April 1 and 4, 2023. Finally, 2 authors independently searched the JPD website and Google Scholar to determine whether the articles provided by the ChatGPT software program existed. ResultsWhen the author tested the ChatGPT software program's ability to locate articles in the JPD and Google Scholar using a set of keywords, the results did not match the papers that the ChatGPT software program had generated with the help of the AI tool. Consequently, all 75 articles provided by the ChatGPT software program were not accurately located in the JPD or Google Scholar databases and had to be added manually to ensure the accuracy of the relevant references. ConclusionsResearchers and academic scholars must be cautious when using the ChatGPT software program because AI-generated content cannot provide or analyze the same information as an author or researcher. In addition, the results indicated that writing credit or references to such content or references in prestigious academic journals is not yet appropriate. At this time, scientific writing is only valid when performed manually by researchers.