Is ChatGPT a "Fire of Prometheus" for Non-Native English-Speaking Researchers in Academic Writing?

Journal: Korean journal of radiology
Published Date:

Abstract

Large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT have garnered considerable interest for their potential to aid non-native English-speaking researchers. These models can function as personal, round-the-clock English tutors, akin to how Prometheus in Greek mythology bestowed fire upon humans for their advancement. LLMs can be particularly helpful for non-native researchers in writing the Introduction and Discussion sections of manuscripts, where they often encounter challenges. However, using LLMs to generate text for research manuscripts entails concerns such as hallucination, plagiarism, and privacy issues; to mitigate these risks, authors should verify the accuracy of generated content, employ text similarity detectors, and avoid inputting sensitive information into their prompts. Consequently, it may be more prudent to utilize LLMs for editing and refining text rather than generating large portions of text. Journal policies concerning the use of LLMs vary, but transparency in disclosing artificial intelligence tool usage is emphasized. This paper aims to summarize how LLMs can lower the barrier to academic writing in English, enabling researchers to concentrate on domain-specific research, provided they are used responsibly and cautiously.

Authors

  • Sung Il Hwang
    Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. hwangsi49@gmail.com.
  • Joon Seo Lim
    Scientific Publications Team, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
  • Ro Woon Lee
    Inha University, Incheon, South Korea.
  • Yusuke Matsui
    Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan.
  • Toshihiro Iguchi
    Department of Radiology, Okayama University Hospital, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan.
  • Takao Hiraki
    Department of Radiology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama 700-8558, Japan.takaoh@tc4.so-net.ne.jp.
  • Hyungwoo Ahn
    Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea.