To use or not to use: exploring the ethical implications of using generative AI in academic writing

The rapid emergence of open-access generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has sparked a heated debate with polarising views on whether or not it is ethical to use GenAI for academic writing. In this commentary, I explore the ethical implications of using GenAI in academic writing. I provide an overview of how GenAI works as a probabilistic model and what the limitations are, such as generating incorrect or entirely made-up information. I raise concerns about bias, misinformation, plagiarism, inequity of access and monetisation of knowledge and discuss how this implicates ethical values regarding plagiarism and research integrity. Despite these issues, I also acknowledge the potential of GenAI to advance academic writing by aiding in tasks like structuring text and summarising large bodies of information. I emphasise the need to be transparent about the use of GenAI and call for an open discussion on this contentious, yet important, topic.