Impact of GPT on the Academic Ecosystem

Abstract

The advent of GPT (generative pre-trained transformer) technologies, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s New Bing, and Google’s Bard, has recently sparked lively discussions in various industries. However, it is still unclear what impact the advent of GPT will have on the academic sectors. In light of this, we have undertaken a summary and discussion of the potential impact of GPT-like technologies on academia. In addition to reviewing and discussing the history and impact of GPT technology on the academic ecosystem, we propose that GPTs could become a new way of retrieving knowledge, by making scientific knowledge more accessible to all and helping to share research results. For academic researchers, GPTs could enhance academic writing by generating high-quality natural language drafts and alleviating the burden of language issues, particularly for non-native English speakers. Additionally, its integration with existing data processing software could render complex tasks accessible to researchers without programming skills. For journal editors, GPTs could be integrated into various aspects of academic publishing, such as manuscript classification, literature generation, and manuscript reviewing, and fundamentally alter the manner of journal editing. For academic services, GPTs could provide more precise suggestions based on the user’s needs. It could also assist with tasks by automatically generating abstracts and summaries. Furthermore, GPTs could improve academic integrity by comparing results and spotting fake data. It is important to acknowledge that GPT-like models still require enhancements in terms of the veracity and precision of the content they generate. Concurrently, the pervasive deployment of these models has given rise to concerns pertaining to privacy and academic integrity. Overall, GPTs have the potential to significantly impact the academic and education ecosystem, but further optimization and careful implementation are needed to address ethical concerns and fully realize their benefits.