LSC 560: Scientific Writing (Fall 2025) : Considerations for Use of AI

Artificial Intelligence and Research Ethics 

"Research ethics are the ethical principles involved in conducting and analysing research. There are specific standards for both different fields and research in general, and they cover all aspects of the research process including study design, study execution, data collection and data analysis as well as obtaining appropriate permissions and approvals for the work."

Springer Nature: Research Integrity: An Introduction for Researchers

Research Process

The resources below discuss artificial intelligence and research ethics throughout the research process.

Grant Submission Policies

When planning a grant submission, check the policies on the use of generative AI for authoring proposals. Below are some federal funder guidelines, but individual solicitations can have additional requirements.

Artificial Intelligence and Publication Ethics 

"Publication ethics are the ethical principles involved in writing up and publishing your work (not only publication in traditional journals, but also conference presentations, preprint servers, etc.).”

Springer Nature: Research Integrity: An Introduction for Researchers

Copyright and Fair Use

Copyright and fair use are key areas of publication ethics. As of March 2023, the U.S. Copyright Office requires human authorship for copyright registration. "If a work’s traditional elements of authorship were produced by a machine, the work lacks human authorship and the Office will not register it" (Copyright Registration Guidance, 2023).

Below are additional resources to follow the evolving landscape around copyright and fair use in authorship and generative AI training.

Publication Submission Policies

The Council on Publishing Ethics (COPE) states that “AI tools cannot meet the requirements for authorship as they cannot take responsibility for the submitted work. As non-legal entities, they cannot assert the presence or absence of conflicts of interest nor manage copyright and license agreements."

Many publishers do not allow an AI tool to be listed as an author or co-author, or to be used in the creation of images or videos, but otherwise allow its use provided that this is disclosed in the methods or acknowledgements section. Check journal policies for artificial intelligence in research and publication when starting your research (e.g., does the publisher allow you to upload any work you intend to publish with them to an AI tool). Follow considerations for data privacy, copyright, and AI tool terms of service (e.g., does the tool retain copyright of its outputs).

Below are a few examples of publisher policies.