ChatGPT is a large language model with a dialogue interface. Via the web interface, you can ask it questions and comment on its answers. The application has been trained on 45 terabytes of text (about 90 trillion words) from websites, books, academic papers, Wikipedia etc., and has learned how humans use text and can replicate this quite well. ChatGPT has promising uses in all kinds of fields, including science communication.
On this page we offer some general advice and caveats, followed by a few concrete tips to get the most out of your interaction with ChatGPT.
What can ChatGPT be used for?
ChatGPT can generate text that looks like it could have been written by a human, but rest assured: it won’t take our jobs any time soon. Since it is trained on lots of text that is not necessarily written by professional writers, its output usually doesn't have the quality that we as science communicators might expect from our own work.
However, there are still several things that it can be very useful for, such as::
Brainstorming and coming up with creative ideas
Help with writing and structuring text
Text editing: checking, translating, simplifying, amending, making more inclusive
Preparing an interview
Help explaining topics
But before you begin, take note of these important caveats:
ChatGPT is not able to check its own output for factual correctness, so always do your own fact checking (and/or ask a researcher to check the text).
Do not tell secrets to ChatGPT. It is continuously trained on data input by its users, so never enter any privacy-sensitive data.
ChatGPT is trained on data up to September 2021 and is not able to search the internet, so it does not have access to more recent information (except user-entered data, as mentioned in the previous bullet point) and cannot open URLs . You can of course copy-paste text from webpages into the ChatGPT dialogue box.
Our colleagues at Legal Affairs have indicated that there is not yet a central Utrecht University policy regarding the use of large language models. However, the EU is in the process of developing legislation for the use of AI in general.
Example prompts
For writing and improving text:
I’m a communications consultant at a university and I’m working on a text for our website about our sustainability-related research. Could you make a first draft of the text for me, explaining why sustainability research is important?
Follow-up prompt to refine ChatGPT’s answer: Could you incorporate the fact that we’re using an open science approach, and put more emphasis on team science?
I’ve written a first draft of a science news article about […]. To summarize, the main points in the article are […]. Are there any blind spots in this article that I’m currently missing?
Please rewrite the following paragraph for an older audience that does not have English as a first language: […]
Could you rewrite the following text to give it more of a “hero’s journey” structure?
Could you rewrite this text in more accessible language?
For brainstorming and preparing interviews:
Give me ten questions for a speed dating event for researchers
Give me ten alternative terms for environmental protection
I’m interviewing a theoretical physicist about their PhD defence for an article for our website. It should not only focus on their research, but also have a human-interest angle, possibly with an unexpected twist. Could you propose 5 questions that I could ask during the interview?
Give me ten possible titles for news item that will be posted on a university website and is aimed at an informed audience
For help explaining topics:
Can you tell me a bit about research into complexity?
What is a supranuclear density?
What is a theoretical framework?
Tell me about recent developments in artificial intelligence, as if you are talking to a high schooler. Please include ethical concerns if applicable.
Can you provide me with a text of 50-75 words explaining what a biomarker is and what role it can play in cancer treatment?
Follow-up questions to refine and change:
Can you give me five alternatives for suggestion 2?
Can you please give me a less vague description of the concept ‘framework’?
In the first paragraph, you use the word ‘according’ twice. Can you change the sentences in a way you don’t use the same word twice?
Can you make this sound more professional?
Can you make it approximately 50 words?
Ethical considerations
The use of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools is not without its ethical considerations. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is not as open as its name would suggest, but is instead ‘corporate, closed-source and for-profit’ (Vice, 18 February 2023). The company has hired underpaid workers in Kenya to assess toxic training data, a ‘traumatic’ job that involves reading graphic descriptions (Time, 18 January 2023). ChatGPT and other generative AI tools are trained on vast amounts of copyrighted material (NPR, 18 August 2023). And while the environmental footprint of such tools is difficult to calculate exactly, it is not negligible (Earth.org, 28 April 2023).
Frequently asked questions
What happens to the data you put into ChatGPT?
ChatGPT continues to learn from the data that is provided by its users. That’s why you shouldn’t tell it private or sensitive information. In the latest version there is an option to keep the conversation ‘confidential’, but the caveat is that the system won’t learn from your conversation. Tragedy of the commons: if all people using the system do that, it won’t be able to develop further. Still, even with private mode on, you should not tell ChatGPT secrets you don’t want out there in the world.
Does the robot speak Dutch?
Yes! But since it’s been mostly trained in English, that’s where you will get the best results.
Can ChatGPT cite sources?
Since it can’t access the internet, it cannot cite sources. When you ask for sources, it will make some up. Make sure to always fact check its work!
Is ChatGPT going to take over our jobs?
ChatGPT is not a magical robot, and therefore it doesn’t have the personal touch and UU style that we as communication professionals can add to a text. It tends to write in a rather commercial or stereotypical “American” style with bold statements, exaggerations and exclamation marks. It can help you get started, but the quality of text it produces definitely still needs to be checked, edited and amended by a communication professional.
Other relevant tools
ChatGPT is not the only large language model that may be useful for us. Another example is Typeset.io, a tool that helps you read, review, compare and summarise academic papers, and also offers additional tools like a paraphraser.
