The Utility of AI in Writing a Scientific Review Article on the Impacts of COVID-19 on Musculoskeletal Health

Abstract

Purpose of Review There were two primary purposes to our reviews. First, to provide an update to the scientific community about the impacts of COVID-19 on musculoskeletal health. Second, was to determine the value of using a large language model, ChatGPT 4.0, in the process of writing a scientific review article. To accomplish these objectives, we originally set out to write three review articles on the topic using different methods to produce the initial drafts of the review articles. The first review article was written in the traditional manner by humans, the second was to be written exclusively using ChatGPT (AI-only or AIO), and the third approach was to input the outline and references selected by humans from approach 1 into ChatGPT, using the AI to assist in completing the writing (AI-assisted or AIA). All review articles were extensively fact-checked and edited by all co-authors leading to the final drafts of the manuscripts, which were significantly different from the initial drafts. Recent Findings Unfortunately, during this process, it became clear that approach 2 was not feasible for a very recent topic like COVID-19 as at the time, ChatGPT 4.0 had a cutoff date of September 2021 and all articles published after this date had to be provided to ChatGPT, making approaches 2 and 3 virtually identical. Therefore, only two approaches and two review articles were written (human and AI-assisted). Here we found that the human-only approach took less time to complete than the AI-assisted approach. This was largely due to the number of hours required to fact-check and edit the AI-assisted manuscript. Of note, the AI-assisted approach resulted in inaccurate attributions of references (about 20%) and had a higher similarity index suggesting an increased risk of plagiarism. Summary The main aim of this project was to determine whether the use of AI could improve the process of writing a scientific review article. Based on our experience, with the current state of technology, it would not be advised to solely use AI to write a scientific review article, especially on a recent topic.

The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Writing Scientific Review Articles

“…Once a complete first draft was written, the manuscript underwent extensive editing and fact checking by all co-authors. Please see the associated Comment for each of the review articles to see the respective first drafts [21][22][23]. Reference citations were inserted into the manuscript using EndNote.…”

“…An author without an extensive AI background began by experimenting to determine the best queries for generating their AI-only review articles [14,17]. Please refer to the Comments for each review topic [21][22][23] for a complete listing of all queries used to generate the AIO review articles. The AI model that was used to write first drafts of papers was the ChatGPT Plus version using the GPT-4 language model (OpenAI).…”

Generative AI, Research Ethics, and Higher Education Research: Insights from a Scientometric Analysis

“…These policies must be enforced by robust oversight mechanisms, ensuring that ethical standards are consistently met. In parallel, as Awosanya et al recommend, educational programs should be introduced to cultivate an understanding of AI's capabilities and limitations, emphasizing ethical usage [52]. To support this…”

“…These policies must be enforced by robust oversight mechanisms, ensuring that ethical standards are consistently met. In parallel, as Awosanya et al recommend, educational programs should be introduced to cultivate an understanding of AI's capabilities and limitations, emphasizing ethical usage [52]. To support this educational framework, the development of critical thinking skills within the academic community is essential, aiding in the responsible evaluation of AI-generated content.…”

COVID-19 and Bone Loss: A Review of Risk Factors, Mechanisms, and Future Directions

“…The first draft of this review was written entirely by humans. Refer to this edition's Comment paper for more information [2]. SARS-CoV-2 is the novel coronavirus that resulted in the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic.…”