Artificial Intelligence in Education

According to the APA on 04/07/2023, quotations from ChatGPT-generated text should be cited as personal communications.  Credit the author of the algorithm with a reference list entry and the corresponding in-text citation.

Example:

When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).

Reference

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

Since ChatGPT generates a unique response in each chat session, the APA also recommends documenting the exact text generated in an appendix or supplemental materials.

To create a reference to ChatGPT or other AI models in general, the APA recommends formatting your reference and in-text citations as follows:

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

 

• Parenthetical citation: (OpenAI, 2023)

• Narrative citation: OpenAI (2023)

The MLA recommends that you cite AI when you paraphrase, quote, or incorporate into your own work any content (whether text, image, data, or other) that was created by it.  You should also acknowledge all functional uses of the tool (like editing your prose or translating words) in a note, your text, or another suitable location, and take care to vet the secondary sources it cites.

The link above provides a template of the elements that you'll need for an in-text and Works-Cited-list entry for AI content, including text and art:

Author

We do not recommend treating the AI tool as an author. This recommendation follows the policies developed by various publishers, including the MLA’s journal PMLA. 

Title of Source

Describe what was generated by the AI tool. This may involve including information about the prompt in the Title of Source element if you have not done so in the text. 

Title of Container

Use the Title of Container element to name the AI tool (e.g., ChatGPT).

Version

Name the version of the AI tool as specifically as possible. For example, the examples in this post were developed using ChatGPT 3.5, which assigns a specific date to the version, so the Version element shows this version date.

Publisher

Name the company that made the tool.

Date

Give the date the content was generated.

Location

Give the general URL for the tool.¹

Per CMOS, you do need to credit ChatGPT and similar tools whenever you use the text that they generate in your own work. But for most types of writing, you can simply acknowledge the AI tool in your text (e.g., “The following recipe for pizza dough was generated by ChatGPT”). 

See the link above if you need a numbered footnote or endnote.

ChatGPT is known to generate plausible-sounding but made-up references when asked to cite sources, known as hallucinations.  LLMs (large language models) like ChatGPT will fabricate sources that don't exist when asked to fill out a reference list.  See Duke University's summary of the state of ChatGPT and Fake Citations.