Here are some fundamental ideas that hold true for citing AI generated content, no matter which citation style you're using:
- Always confirm with your professor whether AI tools like ChatGPT are allowed for each assignment
- Always verify information and sources generated by AI tools and do not use sources cited by AI tools without reading those sources yourself.
- AI has been known to generate false information and to cite non-existent sources
- AI tools may cite a real piece of writing, but the cited content may be inaccurate
- Always cite or acknowledge the outputs of generative AI tools when you use them in your work. This includes direct quotations and paraphrasing, as well as using the tool for tasks like editing, translating, idea generation, and data processing.
- The format of citing material from AI tools in all 3 major styles is rapidly evolving so be prepared to relearn how to do it each semester for a while until the format is finalized.
- Because content from AI tools like ChatGPT is usually nonrecoverable by anyone but the original prompter, at the moment such content is being treated as either personal communication or algorithmic output in the various citation styles.
- When in doubt, remember that sources are cited for two primary purposes: first, to give credit to the author or creator; and second, to help others locate the sources you used in your research. Use these two concepts to help make decisions about using and citing AI-generated content.