Are you a researcher feeling like you’re lost at sea when it comes to AI? Like you’re on a boat without a map, with waves of new tools and opinions crashing all around you? What should you use it for? What should you avoid? With so many strong opinions out there, it can feel impossible to find solid, reliable information.
That’s exactly why Animate Your Science created our “AI for Researchers: Unlocking New Potentials and Avoiding Pitfalls” training — designed to help you navigate the AI landscape with clarity and confidence. Whether you prefer to learn at your own pace with our online course, or engage in a more interactive experience through a live workshop (available online or in person), we’ve got something to suit every learning style and schedule.
Here are the top 10 key takeaways you’ll get:
1. AI-Generated Content and Copyright: Tread Carefully!
In most Western legal systems, AI-generated content cannot be copyrighted by the prompter. Since only humans can own copyright, AI-generated text, music, and images are generally considered public domain. This means anyone can use it, including you! However, there are important legal implications, particularly when it comes to research papers and books, as where copyright protection matters.
2. Navigate the Grey Areas of AI in Scholarly Publishing
Policies around AI use in scholarly publishing vary widely. Publishers generally allow basic author support using AI (e.g. refining grammar, sentence structure) but require editorial approval for anything beyond basic support. Remember, manipulating research data or crediting generative AI as an author is strictly prohibited.
3. Keep Confidentiality Top of Mind
By default, many AI models can use your prompts as part of their training data. This could mean confidential drafts or unpublished research papers might end up as part of the AI's big brain. To mitigate this, avoid inputting confidential material, and make sure to disable data-sharing settings if the platform allows.
4. Never Rely on AI as a Truth Machine
These sophisticated statistical models predict the next most likely word based on context, but they are not infallible. AI models can confidently produce incorrect information (“hallucinations”), sometimes with hilarious consequences. Always double-check AI-generated content for accuracy!
5. AI Bias: Be Aware and Be Responsible
AI models are only as good as the data they are trained on. If the training data contains biases, the AI will perpetuate those biases, potentially leading to discriminatory outputs. Be mindful of these biases and don't inadvertently contribute to their spread.
6. Unleash the Power of AI where safe
Focus your AI efforts on tasks where copyright and confidentiality are less of a concern. Email, social media, presentations, and copyediting are fantastic areas where AI can easily save you 1 hour per day or more.
7. Embrace AI as Your Research Companion
Cultivate the habit of thinking, “Should I bring my AI companion along for this task?”. Investing time to understand AI’s capabilities and limitations and integrating it into your workflows will pay off in the long run.
8. Elevate Your Prompting Skills
Learn the art of crafting effective prompts that guide the AI towards your desired outcome. Remember, a good prompt is a long prompt that clearly defines the AI’s role, the desired style and tone, context, constraints, and includes relevant examples.
9. Think Socratically: Let AI Ask You Questions
When you need help writing, try "Socratic prompting." Instead of directly asking AI to produce a draft, have it ask you questions one at a time. This process is particularly useful in areas where you are not an expert and are unsure how to construct a good prompt.
10. Co-Create with AI for Enhanced Results
Don’t just rely on AI to do all the heavy lifting – stay involved in the creative process! When generating images, use tools like KREA that allow you to combine your sketch and written prompts for a more collaborative and iterative approach.
Curious to learn more? Our “AI for Researchers” training is available as both an online course and a live workshop — delivered either online or in person — so you can choose the format that best suits your needs and schedule.
Here’s what past participants had to say:
🗣️ “I’m enthusiastic! I really can’t wait to be in front of my computer to practice!”
– Anonymous participant, Ecosister, EU Funded Project, Italy
🗣️ “Finally, a really useful workshop! Thank you so much Tullio! Please make more workshops like this.”
– Anonymous participant, Ecosister, EU Funded Project, Italy
Don’t stay lost at sea – let us help you navigate the waters of AI with confidence.
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