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DKU AI Literacy: Citing Generative AI

Introduce Artificial Intelligence resources, tools, and ethics for the DKU community.

Should I cite AI?

The short answer is, yes. Similar to traditional citation practices, citing AI-generated content that is not created by you is a practice to ensure academic integrity. Whenever you are using AI tools to generate text, images, data, or codes, you should cite them or acknowledge them in your work.

The challenge of citing AI is that there are no official rules written in the style books yet, and with the rapid development of AI tools, publishers’ guidance is constantly updating. You should be responsible for evaluating the reliability of the generated content before using it in your article, and you should try your best to acquire a unique source location so that the general public can access your prompt conversation the way it was presented to you.

Several publishers have set their own guidance on how to acknowledge AI tools in manuscripts submitted to them.

Citing AI Generated Text

APA recommends citing contents generated by large language models, algorithms, and other similar softwares using the reference template for software in Section 10.10 of the Publication Manual (American Psychological Association, 2020, Chapter 10).

The guidance is constantly updating with the development of AI tools. Follow APA Style Blog’s How to Cite ChatGPT (Last updated February 23, 2024) for the most up-to-date guidance. 

 

Basic format:

  • In-text citation:
    • Parenthetical citation: (Author/Creator/Developer, Year)
    • Narrative citation: Author/Creator/Developer (Year)
  • Reference list:
    • Author/Creator/Developer. (Year). Model name (Version) [Large language model]. URL

 

Elements breakdown:

  • Author/Creator/Developer: APA recommends citing the creator/developer of the model as the author
  • Year: Use the publication year of the model you use
  • Model name: Treat the name of the model as the title and italicize it
  • Version: Use the version number in the format the author or publisher provides, which may be a numbering system (e.g., Version 2.0) or other methods
  • URL: Give the URL of the AI tool, or the unique URL that generates your specific contents (sign-in/subscription required)

 

Example:

  • In-text citation:
    • Drinking 3-5 cups of coffee in a day can reduce the risk of heart diseases, as ChatGPT-generated text indicated that coffee “contains antioxidants and other bioactive compounds that might contribute to heart health by reducing inflammation and improving blood vessel function” when answering the prompt “can coffee reduce the risk of heart diseases” (OpenAI, 2024; see Appendix A for the full transcript).
  • Reference list:
    • OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (July 18 version) [Large language model]. https://chatgpt.com/ 

 

Notes:

  • Include the prompt and generate text in your article
  • Use quotes in your article, and full response in an appendix to help your readers access the unique text generated by your prompt attempt

The MLA Style Center recommends citing an AI tool “whenever you paraphrase, quote, or incorporate into your own work any content (whether text, image, data, or other) that was created by it” and provides guidance based on MLA’s template of core elements.

Refer to the MLA Style Center’s post How do I cite generative AI in MLA style? (published March 17, 2023) for more complete information. Though this post does not indicate any follow-up updates after publication, the comments section provides recent discussions about citing AI tools.

 

Basic format:

  • In-text citation:
    • (“Prompt text”)
  • Bibliography:
    • “Prompt text” prompt. AI tool, Version, Company of AI tool, Date, URL.

 

Elements breakdown:

  • “Prompt text” prompt: Describe what was generated by the AI tool, e.g. your full prompt or a description of your prompt, and put it in the quotation marks, followed by “prompt”
  • AI tool: Use the name of the AI tool and italicize it 
  • Version: Name the version of the AI tool as specifically as possible
  • Company of AI tool: Name the company that made the AI tool
  • Date: Give the date the generated content is created
  • URL: Give the URL of the AI tool, or the unique URL that generates your specific contents (sign-in/subscription required)

 

Example:

  • In-text citation:
    • New Wave in cinema embraces five key characteristics, “Innovative Techniques,” “Personal Vision,” “Low-Budget Productions,” “Youthful Perspective,” and “Cultural and Social Commentary,” according to ChatGPT (“What's the New Wave in cinema”).
  • Bibliography:
    • “What's the New Wave in cinema” prompt. ChatGPT, 18 July version, OpenAI, 6 Aug. 2024, https://chatgpt.com/.

 

Notes:

  • MLA does not recommends treating AI tools as authors, which is why you don’t see it in the examples above
  • If the cited contents are from a follow-up prompt, make sure to describe it clearly in the bibliography

Chicago recommends using numbered footnotes/endnotes to cite AI-generated content. For bibliography/reference list, Chicago does not require citing AI tools. If you still want to include the reference in the bibliography, consider citing it as personal communication and include a unique link that can be tracked to the specific chat conversation (sign-in/subscription to the AI tool may be required).

If you are using the author-date style, place the information not provided in your article in parentheses. 

Please refer to the Chicago Style Q&A for the most recent updates.

 

Basic format:

  • Footnote/Endnote:
    • If prompt text is included in the main article:
      • #. Text generated by AI tool, Company of AI tool, Date, URL.
    • If prompt text is not included in the main article:
      • #. AI tool, response to “Prompt text”, Company of AI tool, Date, URL.
  • Author-Date style parentheses:
    • If prompt text is included in the main article:
      • (AI tool, Date)
    • If prompt text is not included in the main article:
      • (AI tool, response to “Prompt text” from author, Date)
  • Bibliography (if required, cite as personal communication):
    • AI tool. Response to “Prompt text.” Company of AI tool. Date. URL.

 

Elements breakdown:

  • #: Footnote/endnote number for the cited text in your article
  • AI tool: Use the name of the AI tool 
  • Prompt text: Put your prompt in quotes
  • Company of AI tool: Name the company that made the AI tool
  • Date: Give the date the generated content is created in “Month Day, Year” format
  • URL: Give the URL of the AI tool, or the unique URL that generates your specific contents (sign-in/subscription required)

 

Example:

  • Footnote/Endnote:
    • When prompted with the question Is coal as an energy source not encouraged at all?, ChatGPT listed five main reasons why “coal is generally not encouraged as an energy source today due to its significant environmental and health impacts,” including "Greenhouse Gas Emissions," "Air Pollution," "Environmental Degradation," and "Health Risks."1

    1. Text generated by ChatGPT, OpenAI, August 7, 2024, https://chatgpt.com/.

    • Species that don’t look alike may be related. “Birds are directly related to dinosaurs; in fact, they are considered the modern-day descendants of theropod dinosaurs. Theropods were a group of bipedal dinosaurs that included species like the famous Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor. Over time, some theropods evolved features such as feathers and hollow bones, which eventually led to the development of the first birds.”2

    2. ChatGPT, response to “Briefly explain the relationship between birds and dinosaurs,” OpenAI, August 7, 2024, https://chatgpt.com/. 

  • Author-Date style parentheses:
    • If prompt text is included in the main article:
      • For the prompt question Is coal as an energy source not encouraged at all?, five main reasons were listed for why “coal is generally not encouraged as an energy source today due to its significant environmental and health impacts,” including "Greenhouse Gas Emissions," "Air Pollution," "Environmental Degradation," and "Health Risks" (ChatGPT, August 7, 2024).
    • If prompt text is not included in the main article:
      • Species that don’t look alike may be related. “Birds are directly related to dinosaurs; in fact, they are considered the modern-day descendants of theropod dinosaurs. Theropods were a group of bipedal dinosaurs that included species like the famous Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor. Over time, some theropods evolved features such as feathers and hollow bones, which eventually led to the development of the first birds.” (ChatGPT, response to “Briefly explain the relationship between birds and dinosaurs” from author, August 7, 2024)
  • Bibliography:
    • ChatGPT. Response to “Is coal as an energy source not encouraged at all?.” OpenAI. August 7, 2024. https://chatgpt.com/.
    • ChatGPT. Response to “Briefly explain the relationship between birds and dinosaurs.” OpenAI. August 7, 2024. https://chatgpt.com/.

As of July 2024, IEEE had not released formal guidance regarding how to cite AI-generated content in IEEE citation style. For articles submitted to IEEE, authors will need to disclose the use of AI generated content in the acknowledgement section and cite the AI system used.

For class assignment purposes, we suggest citing AI-generated content using the software citation format in the IEEE Reference Style Guide.


Basic format:

  • In-text citation:
    • [#]
  • Reference list:
    • [#] AI tool. (Version). Company of AI tool. “Prompt description.” Accessed: Date. [Online]. Prompt: “Prompt text.” Available: URL.

 

Elements breakdown:

  • #: Number in the referenece list for the cited text in your article
  • AI tool: Use the name of the AI tool 
  • Version: Name the version or the model of the AI tool as specifically as possible
  • Prompt description: Describe your prompt – especially long prompt – in a few words and put it in quotes
  • Company of AI tool: Name the company that made the AI tool
  • Date: Give the date the generated content is created
  • Prompt text: Put your exact prompt in quotes
  • URL: GIve the URL of the AI tool

 

Example:

  • In-text citation:
    • “Mathematical physics is a branch of physics that uses mathematical methods and techniques to solve problems and develop theories about physical phenomena. It bridges the gap between abstract mathematics and physical theories, providing the tools and frameworks needed to describe and understand the physical universe.” [1]
  • Reference list:
    • [1] ChatGPT. (GPT-4o mini). "Mathematical Physics Explained." OpenAI. Accessed: Aug. 7, 2024. [Online]. Prompt: "What is mathematical physics?" Available: https://chatgpt.com/. 

 

Notes:

  • In the example above, we documented the interaction with the AI tool. However, you can leave out “Prompt description” and “Prompt text” if you simply cite the software.
  • Another way of citation is to cite AI-generated content as private communication for undocumented materials. In this case, you don’t need to include it in the reference list. The in-text citation is put in parentheses e.g.:
    • (OpenAI’s ChatGPT, private communication, Aug. 7, 2024)