Artificial intelligence, abbreviated as AI, is a developing field of information technology. Currently, there is no single definition of AI, but in 2018, the Lithuanian Artificial Intelligence Strategy stated that “artificial intelligence (AI) is systems that demonstrate intelligent and clever behavior by analyzing their environment and making relatively independent decisions to achieve a goal. Artificial intelligence systems can be purely software-based and operate in a virtual world (e.g., voice synthesizers, video analysis software, search engines, speech and facial recognition systems) or can be integrated into hardware (e.g., advanced robots, self-driving vehicle tools, drones, or IoT objects). AI is being implemented in a variety of areas, providing benefits and creating many opportunities, but AI also creates threats that legislation is being created to manage. On the pages of the European Parliament’s “Artificial Intelligence in the EU” you can learn more about what artificial intelligence is and how it is used, what the threats and opportunities of AI are, how to regulate AI, etc.
Artificial intelligence in higher education can be applied to administer study and research processes, enhance and personalize teaching and learning processes, assist learners, and so on. However, the use of AI tools raises questions in the areas of academic integrity, knowledge transmission, and skill demonstration. When using AI tools, it is necessary to understand not only the principles and capabilities of AI but also the existing shortcomings of AI tools and appropriate ways of using AI in accordance with academic ethics and copyright regulations. Improper use of AI-generated results and abuse are equated with academic dishonesty. For more details on the ethical use of AI tools in the study and research process, see “Guidelines for the Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools at Kauno kolegija Higher Education Institution“. AI tools can be used for the analysis of scientific sources, taking into account academic ethics and copyright regulations, as assistance in conducting a literature review (examples of AI tools: Heuristica, Explainpaper, Scispace, Connected Papers, Nextnet, Perplexity, Elicit); however, the AI tools themselves are not scientific sources.
The use of artificial intelligence as a method in scientific research must be legal, justified, and controlled. You can learn more about this in the European Commission’s document “Trustworthy AI Ethics Guidelines” and in the UNESCO recommendation “Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence“.
The topic of artificial intelligence and copyright is discussed, and legislation in this area is being prepared, but the academic community adheres to the position of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) that “artificial intelligence tools cannot meet the requirements of authorship because they cannot take responsibility for the submitted work. As non-legal entities, they cannot confirm the presence or absence of conflicts of interest, nor can they handle copyright and license agreements. Authors who use artificial intelligence tools to write the manuscript, create visuals or graphics for the paper, or collect and analyze data must transparently disclose in the Materials and Methods (or similar section) of the paper how the artificial intelligence tool was used and what tool was used. Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscript, even those parts of it that have been generated using an artificial intelligence tool, and therefore they are responsible for any breach of publishing ethics.”
Artificial intelligence basics course in Lithuanian, intended for non-IT specialists after completing the course, you can get a certificate confirming your knowledge. More detailed information and registration for distance learning courses: https://www.elementsofai.lt/