Challenges and Opportunities of Using Generative AI for Research: Opening the Discussion

The rise of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools poses a number of urgent questions to all those involved in knowledge production processes. In order to discuss its potential benefits as well as the associated risks, this forum brings together the perspectives of four editors and researchers, building on two events organised by The International Spectator in collaboration with the International Studies Association (ISA) in 2024. Leo Goretti looks at the impact of generative AI on scholarly journals, discussing the policies of major publishers and interrogating the productivity-enhancing potential of AI tools for research and editorial work. Anselm Küsters focuses on how generative AI could be used in a responsible way by researchers, and what skills students and scholars will have to acquire to this end. Stella Morgana unpacks the hidden biases and power relations that underlie generative AI and how this may affect the selection of sources reproducing hierarchies and disparities. Ananya Sharma reflects on undergoing projects aimed at constructing context- and culture-specific generative AI software, and the conditions under which these can either contribute to decolonise generative AI or fuel forms of techno-nationalism.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; ChatGPT; digital literacy; knowledge production; decolonising AI