AI and Scientific Writing
2024-07-29
Where is academic writing headed in the age of AI? What responsibilities do students, teachers, and higher education institutions have with regards to the possibilities of AI-supported text production for students? Scholars of academic writing have explored these questions in two discussion papers. Limburg et. al. (2023) put forward “Ten Theses on the Future of Writing in Academia” (written in German: Zehn Thesen zur Zukunft des Schreibens in der Wissenschaft), in which they envision two AI use scenarios, one utopian and one dystopian. As their paper shows, the direction in which writing reality will develop is in our own hands. This ‘we’ includes each individual involved in academia. Everyone must reflect upon their own approach to, and use of AI.
But what exactly does ‘our approach’ mean? Where and how can such an approach be learned? How should AI be taught? Brommer et al. (2023) address these questions in “Sharing Responsibility for AcademicWwriting in the Age of AI. A Writing Science Perspective on Implications for Actors at Universities” (written in German: “Wissenschaftliches Schreiben im Zeitalter von KI gemeinsam verantworten. Eine schreibwissenschaftliche Perspektive auf Implikationen für Akteur*innen an Hochschulen.”) The authors are convinced that only through a shared lived experience of a transparent academic culture “can the challenges of dealing with AI be overcome” (Brommer et al. 2023: 1).
To further this cause, Dagmar Knorr contributed to the discussion papers and, together with Micha Edlich, committed to a transparent approach to AI. Together Knorr and Edlich collaborated on the “Conditions and Recommendations for the Use of AI-Based Applications in Teaching and Examinations”. Here, the declaration of authorship is an especially important issue. To help students maintain academic integrity, the Schreibzentrum / Writing Center has drafted a template for a Declaration of Authorship that considers the issue of AI usage.
However, a statement of authorship is only the first step. Several universities Lower Saxony are currently discussing how AI could and should be used in secondary and tertiary education/higher education and developing a handout containing more specific information for students and lecturers on how AI use should be documented in exams and papers. The aim of this handout is to achieve greater certainty for all involved. The discussions are open and challenging, given that legal requirements must be meet while guidelines still need to be feasible and practical and provide room for new, open learning spaces. With each new technology, we must take advantage of the opportunity to innovate the university's learning and examination culture.
We at the Schreibzentrum / Writing Center would like to engage with you to learn more about your perspective on AI use in academia. What experiences and questions do you have regarding the application and use of AI? Please send us a message to schreibzentrum@leuphana.de or visit our AI Writing Lab. We are very much looking forward to hearing from you!
References
Brommer, S., Berendes, J., Bohle-Jurok, U., Buck, I., Girgensohn, K., Grieshammer, E., Gröner, C., Gürtl, F., Hollosi-Boiger, C., Klamm, C., Knorr, D., Limburg, A., Mundorf, M., Stahlberg, N., & Unterpertinger, E. (2023). Wissenschaftliches Schreiben im Zeitalter von KI gemeinsam verantworten. Eine schreibwissenschaftliche Perspektive auf Implikationen für Akteur*innen an Hochschulen (Vol. 27). Hochschulforum Digitalisierung. hochschulforumdigitalisierung.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/HFD_DP_27_Schreiben_KI.pdf
Limburg, A., Bohle-Jurok, U., Buck, I., Grieshammer, E., Gröpler, J., Knorr, D., Lira Lorca, A., Mundorf, M., Schindler, K., & Wilder, N. (2023). Zehn Thesen zur Zukunft des Schreibens in der Wissenschaft (Vol. 23). Hochschulforum Digitalisierung. hochschulforumdigitalisierung.de/de/news/zukunft-wissenschaftlichen-schreibens