Using generative AI when writing academic texts within doctoral education

When writing for example a research article, an examination task, the literature review for your half-time report or the comprehensive summary of your doctoral thesis (also called the “kappa”), you may usually use generative AI (GenAI) to assist you, but if you do, you need in most cases describe in a transparent way how you have used GenAI.

In this text, ”AI tools” and ”GenAI tools” mainly refer to Large Language Models (LLMs).

Can you trust GenAI tools to assist you in your writing process??

First of all, you need to ask yourself: can I trust generative AI tools to assist in my writing? Most of us have probably heard by now that AI tools sometimes provide incorrect information, while at the same time sounding confident. GenAI tools are not like search engines as such; rather, they produce text based on statistical probability without any evaluation of the information. As a consequence, there may not only be errors but also a replication of common biases and misconceptions. In addition, it is unclear what data GenAI tools are based upon, which further undermines the credibility of the information they present. Some AI tools will provide references, which might make them appear more reliable. However, it is often unclear how these sources were chosen. Depending on where these AI tools retrieve sources, even questionable journals (often referred to as “predators”) may be included. Additionally, GenAI tools may also summarize the information from sources incorrectly, and the summaries often rely only on the abstracts of articles since many AI tools cannot access information protected by paywalls.

Since AI tools are currently unreliable for information, you cannot use them as sources. The absolute minimum may be to fact-check everything written by AI tools conscientiously and with reliable sources – and add these sources to your text. But please be aware that if you only fact-check the information provided by generative AI tools, you will only look for information that supports the ideas in your text – and you will likely end up with a biased text.

Moreover, it is clearly stated that both the content and the text of your comprehensive summary should be your own, so this is yet another reason that you cannot rely too much on GenAI tools.

Finally, you need to be aware that GenAI tools may store the data that you feed them. However, doctoral students who are employed by or affiliated with KI may use the Microsoft Copilot app, which ensures that your data is protected when you are logged in through KI. (Please be aware that Microsoft Copilot is not the same as Microsoft 365 Copilot – the latter requires a paid license).

How can you use generative AI tools?

Despite the limitations of GenAI tools and the requirement that your half-time report, comprehensive summary of your thesis (the “kappa”) or monograph thesis should be written by you, GenAI tools can be used both to find sources and to assist you in the writing process. 

Some GenAI tools may be useful for searching for literature, such as Elicit, Scispace, Connected Papers, and ResearchRabbit. Unlike traditional databases, these tools can interpret natural language queries, similar to google searches. While using these tools may serve as a useful starting point, it is crucial to recognize these tools’ above mentioned limitations in reproducibility and transparency. To ensure a more comprehensive literature search, you should in many cases complement the AI tool search with a search in traditional databases. 

GenAI tools may indeed help you both with your writing process and with the quality of your text. At the start of your writing process, generative AI can help you by brainstorming about a topic, or help you overcome writer’s block by listing points to cover in an introduction to your chosen research topic. You could then use the suggested topics as a basis on which to develop your own text, which effectively gets you past the stress of sitting in front of a blank page. Later on, generative AI can provide feedback on your writing, or help you improve the language, grammar, and/or flow of your text. Using AI tools in these ways may allow you to write a well-written text that is still your own work.

Since doctoral education is precisely an education you need to constantly reflect on how your use of AI affects your learning. Do you think you learn as much when you use AI as you would have done if you hadn't?  The “kappa” in your compilation thesis or, where applicable, your monograph thesis for your doctoral degree is also crucial in demonstrating that you have achieved the intend learning outcomes for your doctoral education. So, always consider whether your use of AI feels reasonable—and more specifically, whether your use of AI allows you to achieve the learning objectives for a doctoral degree. 

In relation to your learning when using AI, it is good to be aware that research and opinion-forming are ongoing regarding the possible effects on the brain of delegating cognitively demanding parts of writing and other higher executive functions to GenAI tools at the expense of stimulating cognitive processes and critical thinking during the writing process (see for example Kosmyna, N. et al. Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of cognitive debt when using an AI assistant for essay writing task, preprint on arXiv (2025), León-Domínguez, U. Potential cognitive risks of generative transformer-based AI chatbots on higher order executive functions. Neuropsych 38(4), 293–308 (2024), Editorial. Writing is thinking. Nat Reviews Bioeng 3, 431 (2025)).

Both your learning and any benefits you derive from AI tools are influenced by how you use AI and how you prompt AI tools (i.e., how you formulate your “question” to the tool). For example, if you formulate a general prompt—where you ask an AI tool to “improve” your text—it may result in various changes, such as changes in word choice and tone, or the addition of new content. These changes may also be based on a large amount of text that is not medical at all. For example, even if you write about “vaccine effectiveness,” a GenAI tool may change this to “vaccine efficacy.” The words ‘effectiveness’ and “efficacy” are almost synonymous in everyday language, but in a medical context, the difference is important. When you receive many changes at once, it can be difficult to take a position on all of them, and it is easy to miss errors, especially if you cut and paste suggestions from AI tools into your own text. Furthermore, it is questionable how much you learn from receiving a rewritten text.

However, if you instead prompt GenAI to suggest adjustments to your text rather than changes, you have the opportunity to both make better decisions and learn more. This is because you must actively consider all suggestions. It may also be a good idea to prompt AI tools to provide explanations for the suggestions they make. This allows you to make better choices and also learn more about text and how to make it clear and effective. In addition, you will get more out of AI tools if you prompt them to be specific in their suggestions and explanations, for example by focusing on structure, flow, or correct and formal language. Also, provide as much context as possible to get relevant feedback, such as the context you are writing for.

Declaring your use of AI tools

You also need to be transparent about how generative AI and AI-assisted technologies have been used during the process of writing your text for the half-time report, the comprehensive summary (“kappan”) in the compilation thesis, and the monograph thesis. Many scientific journals also request an AI declaration when a manuscript is submitted to them for review, and course organisers may request an AI declaration from students in connection with the submission of their examination assignments. The KI instructions/template for writing the comprehensive summary and for the monograph thesis require you to add a statement in the text regarding the use of generative AI. The statement must fully disclose your use of such GenAI tools, both in terms of which tools you have used and how you have used them. For example, if you have used AI tools to generate ideas for improving the content of your text, to ask for feedback regarding the structure of the text, or to ask an AI tool to re-write it, you need to declare these specific uses (and, of course, doublecheck everything and ensure that you can be accountable for everything in the text).

However, if you have only used AI tools as for example language and grammar support, you do not have to add such a statement. But what does that mean? Generally, you do not need to disclose that you used tools that automate time-consuming tasks where the end result essentially remains the same. For example, you may use reference management systems such as Endnote, Zotero, or Mendeley to provide your sources in the exact format you need them. Similarly, you may use word processing programs that help you with the spelling, grammar, level of style, and concision of your text. These suggestions are based on grammatical rules and stylistic principles, and these tools will not re-write your text for you. Examples of such programs are Word, the basic feature of Grammarly, and Instatext. Of course, you are still responsible for the output, so make sure that you check it carefully.

If you are uncertain whether or not you should declare your use of AI tools, we suggest that you discuss the matter with your supervisor. Always err on the side of caution; it is safer to declare generative AI use when it may not be needed than to withhold that declaration when it is required.

A few final words 

Finally, we need to remember that advanced AI tools are new and that they can do things they could not do, up until recently – so we do not have all the answers about how to use them responsibly yet. It is important to be humble about that fact, to perhaps be a bit cautious, to communicate with supervisors and peers with open minds, to be as transparent as we can, and to learn together as we move along.

Additional resources

If you want to learn more about generative AI tools and how you may use them, you can visit “AI for students” (in English from September 2025 - the information provided by the University Library is also relevant for doctoral students) and/or look at some recorded lectures from the KI event “AI in practice” May 28, 2024. If you have questions, please contact Karolinska Institutet University Library.