For scientific production focused on human development…

We held the 12th graduation ceremony of Üsküdar University, where I serve. The words of our student, who graduated first in the software department, in their graduation speech, "I would also like to send a thank you to Professor Chat GPT, who never withheld their support from us," sounded sympathetic and made the audience laugh. After all, give credit where credit is due.

Our student expressed these words quite sincerely and to draw attention to the technological developments in their own field. Indeed, those involved in education and training are close witnesses to how intertwined students are with artificial intelligence, especially today. It is not just students; educators and researchers are also deeply involved with artificial intelligence technology. There is nothing abnormal about this either. Every technological development that makes life easier should be used effectively.

While artificial intelligence technology offers significant opportunities, it also brings serious risks. Especially for those whose job is intellectual and scientific production, one must be careful in the use of artificial intelligence. Accordingly, conscious regulation of artificial intelligence use in education is essential. No technology provides benefits under all conditions. It is vital that the conditions of use for every technology are planned correctly with a conscious and visionary perspective. Even if we assume that all technology producers are entirely well-intentioned, we must not forget that not all people using the technology will have the same good intentions.

The source of my concerns in this direction is my observations. Indeed, in recent years, the fact that most of the postgraduate (master's and doctoral) theses prepared at universities are similar to each other, and that articles published in academic journals cannot go beyond repeating one another, must have an influence from Professor Chat GPT or similar artificial intelligence programs. We often witness researchers having artificial intelligence collect all the data on the subject they are working on, and even having it do the writing. There is no problem in using artificial intelligence programs to collect information and reach sources, but I wish they would not have the machine do the work of compiling and organizing the collected data into an academic text. Because it is precisely at this point that the researcher's own intellectual contribution is expected to be involved.

One of the most important features sought in both academic articles and postgraduate theses is that they create original value and offer a new scientific contribution to the relevant field. However, the fact that most scientific studies prepared using artificial intelligence present the same sources in the same style, and often with the same narrative, shows that the expectation in this direction no longer has any importance in today's academic world, or rather, it has been trivialized. Moreover, I am not even sure that this trivialization is done with conscious awareness. Unfortunately, what is done with pages of articles and theses prepared in an environment where information is easily accessible cannot go beyond compilation-style work. Even worse, the new generation of academics and students think that scientific production and academic work should be done this way.

However, academic work and scientific production mean being able to do what has not been done, say what has not been said, and write what has not been written, in light of what has already been done. In original academic and scientific work, the development of new methodological perspectives and new analytical techniques is expected. Those involved in science and thought constantly observe society, humanity, and scientific developments and try to identify problems. Then, they ponder to find solutions to existing or potential problems and conduct scientific work. For this reason, every thesis study, every scientific book, or article is expected to start from a set of questions and problems. However, we are witnessing that most of the work put forward in today's academic environment is not associated with social and scientific reality.

Quantity, not quality, drives academic work.

Today, academic work, especially in universities in Turkey, is mostly driven by concerns for quantity. The point requirement for obtaining an academic title has turned academics into point hunters. Unfortunately, concerns such as social contribution and original scientific value have been set aside, and instead, citation networks, commercial journals that publish articles for money, and professional thesis writers have become the rising values. At this very point, artificial intelligence has also been included in the process.

The work of academics or those who want to plan their careers in the academic lane is becoming easier, but we must also say that what is put forward in this way is not scientific production. Academic career plans can be made within this structure. A high number of citations can be obtained, points can be collected. Academic positions can be reached at universities. But if this understanding is allowed to spread and take root, universities will soon become nothing more than mere employment areas.

Therefore, quality must come to the fore in intellectual and scientific production. Those in academia, those dealing with science, and those actively involved in education and training must manage and conduct the process on the axis of human and social value production. For our universities to become environments for original scientific production, all stakeholders must make an effort and create awareness. It is important to produce data that yields results, not just numbers. The support of technologies such as artificial intelligence should certainly be received, and their effective use should be ensured, but it is important that all of this is planned in line with an understanding focused on human and social development. Universities that achieve this make a difference and progress by strengthening on the path of science and education. Academics who achieve this also continue on their path in the service of science and by contributing to humanity through science.