Can I co-author with my robot? The legal, ethical and economic dilemmas of doing academic research in times of artificial intelligence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_ais/ais.20254711876Keywords:
Academic Research, Ethics and AI, Intellectual Property, AuthorshipAbstract
Currently, there is a huge wave of enthusiasm in the education sector which materializes on the great number of materials and courses to capacitate teachers and students in mastering AI apps to support their education. However, it is possible to also find some reservations among the sector, particularly in the publishing industry and universities that manage scholarly journals. These doubts focus mainly on the authorship issue. Lately, renown publishers have settled limits to the incorporation of AI as authors. In this work, I will focus on understanding how these contradicted approaches, enthusiasm vs reservations, are not only motivated by preserving academic ethics and limit the proliferation of malpractices as the case of plagiarism, but also by economic and legal issues. This analysis centers on academic literature review but also on the comparative study of legal texts (regulations and legal court case sentences), and the examination of punctual controversial court cases about the incorporation of AI for academic research. Final outcomes will show that these contradictory aptitudes about AI are also evidence of the deep impact of this disruptive technology in the academic publishing sector, and how legal frameworks and financing mechanisms are becoming outdated to comply with the quick changes introduced in the educative sector.
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