You Are Ultimately Responsible

Remain ultimately responsible for scientific output and the integrity of the content generated by or with the support of AI and GenAI tools and take full responsibility for any information, material, and data they have entered into tools.

Be Transparent

Disclose, describe, and explain use of AI, inc. GenAI in research, including its limitations regarding use across a variety of research activities and across the entire lifecycle of the research.

Transparency Obligations

• Disclose clearly when AI is used to generate content, simulate data, or assist in decision-making.
• Label AI-generated outputs in publications and presentations.
• Inform participants or co-researchers when generative AI is used in interactions, experiments, or data analysis.

Protect Privacy and IP

Pay particular attention to issues related to privacy, confidentiality & intellectual property rights when sharing sensitive & protected information with AI tools.

Be aware of issues related to privacy, confidentiality and intellectual property rights when sharing sensitive or protected information with AI tools. It is important to note that AI systems should not be used in situations that are likely to involve unauthorised disclosure of confidential information related to human research subjects, unpublished research, potential intellectual property claims, or proprietary or classified research.

Comply with Legislation

When using GenAI, respect applicable institutional, national, EU and international legislation.

Select, apply and use AI and GenAI tools for research in a manner that is fully compliant with the legislative requirements set out in the EU AI Act 2024.

Continuously Learn

Continuously learn how to use Generative AI tools properly to maximise their benefits, including undertaking training.

• Use GenAI only in situations in which you have sufficient expertise or judgement to use it responsibly.
• Researchers are encouraged to stay up to date on the best practices and share them with colleagues and other stakeholders.
• Education & mentoring in responsible conduct of research should include discussion of ethical use of AI.

Limit Use in Sensitive Activities

Refrain from using Generative AI tools substantially in sensitive activities that could impact other researchers or organisations (for example peer review, evaluation of research proposals etc).

Researchers, research institutions, and organisations review and assess submissions for publication, funding, appointment, promotion, or reward in a transparent and justifiable manner, and disclose the use of AI/GenAI and automated tools.

Refrain from using GenAI tools substantially in sensitive activities that could impact other researchers or organisations (e.g. evaluation of research proposals, peer review, etc).

In general publishers have strict policies around peer reviewers using AI/GenAI technologies to assist in reviewing submitted articles, with organisations such as the UK Research Integrity Office advocating against the use of GenAI/LLMs for peer review.

Avoiding the use of Gen AI tools eliminates the potential risks of unfair treatment or assessment that may arise from these tools’ limitations (such as hallucinations and bias). Furthermore, this will safeguard the original unpublished work of fellow researchers from potential exposure or inclusion in an AI model (under the conditions detailed above in the recommendation for researchers.

Consider Sustainability

Researchers are strongly encouraged to use AI and Gen AI in ways that are environmentally responsible, ethically sound, and socially equitable.

Researchers should be cognisant of the environmental impact of using AI and GenAI tools, and use these tools as efficiently and as environmentally conscious as possible.

Researchers aim at minimising the environmental impact of generative AI, by evaluating whether and which AI tool is best suited for the intended task and by using the most effective prompting techniques.

Aligning with the UCC Sustainability and Climate Action Plan. Researchers should be aware of the sustainability and environmental impact of using AI and GenAI technologies. Appendix E outlines specific sustainability issues around GenAI use (e.g. energy consumption and environmental impact.