Young researchers are embracing artificial intelligence tools but remain cautious about their reliability, according to findings from the international research initiative Harbingers of Change.
The project, led by scientists from the United Kingdom’s CIBER Research Centre and Professor David Nicholas, has tracked early-career researchers in more than a dozen countries for a decade. Participants come from the UK, United States, France, Spain, Portugal, Russia, China, Malaysia, and Poland.
The latest study shows that young scientists use generative AI for spell-checking, translation, summarizing information, creating presentations, and searching academic databases.
However, they stress the need for expert verification of AI outputs and value direct human contact in teaching and research.
Marzena Świgoń, PhD, from the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, who conducted the Polish part of the study, said that they do not rely on AI 100% but verify the content and they do not fear being replaced.
She also noted a sharp rise in ChatGPT use among Polish humanities scholars, theologians, and scholar-artists between interviews held in early 2023 and early 2024.
The first interviews, conducted just months after ChatGPT’s launch, found limited familiarity. By spring 2024, all respondents reported using it.
While respondents said reviewing AI-generated material is time-consuming, they see it as essential.
This is the fourth Harbingers project examining how external factors shape scientific work. Earlier studies explored the impact of social media, research platforms, open science, and the COVID-19 pandemic on the careers of young researchers.
PAP - Science in Poland
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