Episode 4 - Why generative AI is overrated for writing scientific papers

As most researchers, you are probably either already using ChatGPT and friends to help you with your academic writing or you are wondering if you should! In this episode, I’m sharing my view on using generative AI to write scientific papers – which is (spoiler alert!) probably a bit more critical than what you normally hear.

I’m analysing the 3 central hopes, or goals, that we have for generative AI when it comes to writing scientific papers: 1) saving us time, 2) increasing the quality of our writing, and 3) enhancing our creativity. And I have a bit of a hot take on what I think scientists and researchers should focus their time and energy on. 🔥

But I’m not saying to completely avoid using generative AI! To me, the question is more what to use it for and how to use it. So, at the end of the episode, I’m leaving you with 8 specific recommendations for using generative AI in your writing and research.

In this episode, I cover:
(2:00) Definitions of generative AI and LLMs
(4:15) The hopes/goals of why we use generative AI for science writing
(6:28) My views, warnings, and analysing those hopes/goals of why we use generative AI when writing
(22:52) My recommendations on how to use generative AI
(29:03) Listener question: Should I send a pre-submission inquiry to the journal editor before submitting my article?

Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhD
Video and audio editing: Jason Rivera

And if you’re ready to invest your time and energy into acquiring the skill of writing papers for top-tier journals time-efficiently, then I highly recommend checking out my free writing training: researcherswritingpodcast.com/free