Ethical use of ChatGPT for writing a first draft
On January 24, 2023, the journal Nature announced regulations regarding the use of the AI tool ChatGPT in writing academic papers ((Tools such as ChatGPT threaten transparent science; here are our ground rules for their use. (2023). Nature, 613(7945), 612–612. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00191-1 )). Triggered by this announcement, a variety of opinions have been circulating about the appropriate relationship between AI and academic writing ((Thorp, H. H. (2023). ChatGPT is fun, but not an author. Science, 379(6630), 313-313. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg7879 ))((Flanagin, A., Bibbins-Domingo, K., Berkwits, M., & Christiansen, S. L. (2023). Nonhuman “Authors” and implications for the integrity of scientific publication and medical knowledge. JAMA. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2801170 )).
Amid this discussion, Dr. Mushtaq Bilal of the University of Southern Denmark shared tips on Twitter for ethically using ChatGPT to write a first draft. With his permission, I have briefly translated his thread into Japanese and posted it here.
How to use ChatGPT ethically to write a perfect first draft (of a journal article, dissertation chapter, etc.).
Before you start writing your first draft, you will need to do what I call “Active and Slow Reading.”
Pick up an academic text related to your project and start reading it slowly and patiently.
Take notes in a notebook as you read.
Use only the right-hand page of the notebook.
Note down anything in the text that you find interesting or useful, along with the page number.
Leave the left-hand page blank.
As you read and take notes, many ideas and questions will come to mind.
Write these ideas and questions on the left-hand page.
The right side is the page for writing
The left side is the page for thinking
This practice of Active and Slow Reading will help you:
1. “Digest” the text
2. Understand how arguments are constructed through writing.
3. Organize your own thoughts
4. Form your own interpretations
Do this exercise with several texts for about two weeks.
Then, stop reading.
Choose the most productive time of day for you. It can be early morning, late afternoon, or the middle of the night.
Choose a time that suits you.
Remove distractions. No phone. No internet.
If you have a family, let them know that you need to work.
You have been reading actively for about two weeks now. This means you have something to write about.
Open a blank document in MS Word or Google Docs.
Set a timer for 25 minutes.
Start writing the moment the timer starts.
Wait, what should you write?
Write whatever comes to mind.
Write in the first person (I think, I want to argue, etc.).
Do not worry about spelling, grammar, or punctuation.
Do not delete a single word.
Type non-stop for 25 minutes.
Stop when the timer goes off.
Praise yourself and give yourself a reward.
Tell yourself, “I am a wonderful person creating new knowledge.”
If you have time, do another 25-minute session.
Try to get as many words down as possible.
Continue this exercise for one week.
By the end of the week, you will have a document consisting of thousands of words.
This is your “zero draft.”
Your zero draft does not have much structure, and that is completely fine.
Let ChatGPT structure it for you.
Take a block of text from your zero draft and run it through ChatGPT.
Use the following prompt:
“Please remove redundant words from the following passage and make it coherent and cohesive.”
ChatGPT will do the necessary work and create a coherent paragraph with grammatically correct sentences.
Run your entire zero draft through ChatGPT paragraph by paragraph.
Copy the polished paragraphs and paste them into a new document: “[Project Title] Draft 1 [Date]”.
Now, your draft will look like this.
You can show this manuscript to your colleagues or supervisor and get feedback.
This is your perfect first draft.
A first draft that exists is a perfect first draft.
The method of setting a time limit and writing non-stop is called a “writing marathon.”
Microsoft described its newly introduced Bing AI as a “copilot” ((Reinventing search with a new AI-powered Microsoft Bing and Edge, your copilot for the web. (2023, February 7). The Official Microsoft Blog. https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/02/07/reinventing-search-with-a-new-ai-powered-microsoft-bing-and-edge-your-copilot-for-the-web/ )).
I found using AI as a copilot to structure ideas that come to mind to be one appropriate way to use the technology.
I hope to continue thinking about the appropriate relationship between humans and AI in the field of science.
