Legal dangers of using ChatGPT as a co-author according to academic research regulations

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Abstract

This article sheds light on the modern trend of many researchers towards relying on chat generative pre-trained transformer (ChatGPT) in the field of academic research, either as a co-author or as a reference (Teixeira da Silva, 2023). The chosen methodology by the authors is analyzing the ChatGPT’s operating parameters as evidenced by its answers to questions addressed to it by the authors. The authors asked ChatGPT about its mechanism, analyzed whether it can be identified as a coauthor in the light of its terms of use, and presented a practical case study to examine whether ChatGPT should be considered a reference in academic writing. Doing so necessitated addressing legal and research concepts including authorship, copyrights, and plagiarism. The article argues that while ChatGPT represents an important technological advancement, it should not be listed as a co-author on any academic writing and should not be cited as a source of information. The article shows how researchers can benefit from this technological advancement without violating copyright law or rules of academic writing, especially plagiarism-related ones.

Keywords: ChatGPT, OpenAI, Academic Research, Co-Author, Copyright, Artificial Intelligence

Authors’ individual contribution: Conceptualization — M.E.K. and A.E.; Methodology — M.E.K. and A.E.; Resources — M.E.K. and A.E.; Writing — Original Draft — M.E.K. and A.E.; Writing — Review & Editing — M.E.K. and A.E.; Supervision — M.E.K.; Project Administration — M.E.K.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: O34, I23, Y70, K15, K23

Received: 01.06.2023
Accepted: 20.02.2024
Published online: 23.02.2024

How to cite this paper: Kandeel, M. E., & Eldakak, A. (2024). Legal dangers of using ChatGPT as a co-author according to academic research regulations [Special issue]. Journal of Governance & Regulation, 13(1), 289–298. https://doi.org/10.22495/jgrv13i1siart3